Restitution follows Sean as he’s dropped in the desert and must fight to stay alive against a bloodthirsty group of men. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

I’d been wanting to write a desert thriller for some time. One of the first novels I really got into, way back in junior high, was “Deathwatch” by Robb White. It’s a great young-adult desert survival story that pits one man against another in sort of a hunter versus prey scenario. I enjoyed its grittiness, and the situational desperation surrounding the plot. I decided to finally go ahead and try my hand at the sub-genre, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

I chose the Nevada desert for a reason more specific to my Sean Coleman Thriller series. Ten years ago, when I was working on the first book in the series, “From a Dead Sleep”, I planted a lot of story seeds between different characters, in different parts of the country… including Las Vegas. I had originally planned to come back to them all by the end of the book, but eventually realized that if I went that route, the book would end up over 800 pages long. Instead, I’ve revisited each of these side-stories very slowly over subsequent books in the series, while maintaining a standalone premise for each thriller. In other words, there’s some underlying continuity for longtime Sean Coleman fans, but readers new to the series can pick up any book in it, and enjoy and understand it, without having read the earlier books.

Sean Coleman is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

Thank you. I’ve known a few people throughout my life who I would describe as being their own worst enemies. They’re good people for sure, and in many ways loyal and even reliable, but they’ve made some really bad personal decisions for which they’ve paid a price. That’s how I see Sean Coleman.

The series begins at a very low point in Sean’s life. He’s a pariah in his small mountain hometown — a drunk who can barely hold a job. But he wants to be a better person, and in an odd way, the perilous situations he faces throughout the series actually serve as footholds, of sorts, to — with a lot of hard work — bring him closer and closer to becoming that person. There’s definitely a big perseverance angle when it comes to Sean Coleman.

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

An underlying theme of the entire series is redemption. It’s a concept I’m a big believer in, and it very much carries over into “Restitution.” In fact, Sean’s chosen path to seeking forgiveness for his past wrong-doings is a large part of the story’s premise. The importance of friendship is also a key theme in the book. Sean started out the series as a loner, and part of his development and growth has come from the strength and importance of relationships.

This is book five in your Sean Coleman Thriller series. What can readers expect in book six?

Book six is in its very early stages, but I can tell you that the story will be much simpler and smaller in scope than “Restitution.” Restitution is a pretty good-sized book with several characters and moving parts. The next one will be pretty tightly knit, and perhaps more of a mystery-thriller than an action-thriller. I think readers are going to enjoy it.

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