Missing in Lincoln Park follows a boy growing up in Chicago whose life is anything but traditional, filled with strippers, criminals, and secrets, and how this shaped his life as he grew into adulthood. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I am a huge movie fan and have a taste that lies somewhere between the campy John Hughes  coming of age films of the eighties and gritty mafia thrillers like Goodfellas and Donnie Brasco, so the urge to merge the two realms was something that tugged at my mind for a while. I wanted to be able to showcase the struggle of being a teenaged kid who was put into a very adult role way to young and how that effected his psyche.

Benny grows up in a world that is dark and unpredictable, shaping his values and perception of what family is. Was the character’s backstory something you always had, or did it develop as you were writing?

In truth, the original Benny started out to be a smaller character in a larger spanning saga, but the more time that I spent developing his backstory and falling down the rabbit holes of Chicago and it’s enticing underworld, Benny began to take on the centralized role, overshadowing what I had originally set out to write about. I just let him lead the way.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Family allegiance and loyalty was a centralized theme of Benny’s story. Being put into the position of the role of “man of the house” at such a young and formative age, while also understanding that other people and their families livelihoods depended on his families decisions. There is also the strained relationship between Benny and his own mother versus the relationship that he had with Ms. Berta, the woman who was actually doing the day to day care taking of him as he was growing up. To be nurtured was something that he had longed for while growing up, no matter where he found it.

When will Missing in Lincoln Park be available for readers to pick up?

April 24th in paperback and Kindle format, with audio releasing soon after.

Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website