Alaska Deadly follows a private detective searching for a client’s missing husband, who, while on the case, uncovers a cult and a sex trafficking ring. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

While living in Anchorage from 2009 -2010, I was at a downtown open-air market where many vendors were selling their wares. I met a guide/photographer selling photographs of his work. Looking through dozens of images, I came upon the wolf photo and could not take my eyes off it. Many thoughts ran through my mind, and it was then an idea for the book was formed, only in a vague way, and I immediately bought the photo. A week later, I bought his coffee table book of photographs at a Barnes and Noble book signing. Soon I had scribbled about twenty pages of my ideas for a book, but I set aside until over ten years later when I expanded the rough draft into the 370-page novel. This was done in a year’s time with dozens of rewrites.

Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?

Yes, the background of the hero Race Warren is loosely modeled after me. My first job out of college was as a social worker, but Warren is single so, he was able to make the risky transition into a neophyte private eye.

With so many shocking twists to the plot of this novel, readers are kept on edge from start to finish. What was the hardest part about writing a mystery story, where you constantly have to give just enough to keep the mystery alive until the big reveal?

I see now the novel has some serious flaws, especially with plotting. I wrote the book “by the seat of my pants” with the image of the wolf as a key part. But I didn’t want the supernatural theme to predominate, and I wanted the book to have lots of action, so I intentionally added the plots with the Russian trafficking ring involving two different girls and Warren and the man he was originally tracking, Ron Billings, forming a duo to rescue the females and much of the book deals with the many twists and turns both men face as they try to free the girls. A key method, as I wrote, was to throw obstacles in front of the two heroes and to change the direction the storyline seemed to be going so you’ll see in the book that sometimes the characters inexplicably do the unexpected. I had no “plan” when writing; I made the story as much of a mystery to myself as it turned out to be for the readers, but it all flowed smoothly, and I always felt the story was going on a true path.

Race Warren is a well-written character that draws readers into his world. Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?

Yes, of all the characters, Race is my favorite, and I have lots more to say about him. As a “seat of the pants” guy, I’m not planning a series, but I am working on the sequel to Alaska Deadly, which I believe will be a better book than its predecessor. I say this because of the many readers who gave Alaska Deadly their close attention and posted honest reviews that included bits of constructive criticism. The “feedback” will enhance the sequel.

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