À propos de l'auteur

1. Why do you find serial-killer and crime-thriller books interesting?

Serial killer books interest me because multiple murders put so much stress on the people most affected by the murders. The police force is under heavy stress. In The Chameleon Killer, the entire city of Hillsford is under stress because the murders are happening in public places. No one wants to go out at night.

I enjoy crime thrillers because they read so fast. I love it when I find one that I can’t put down. Crime has always been something I have been interested in from a novel perspective. The crime and the investigation interest me.

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 2. Why do you prefer using a fictional city like Hillsford instead of a real location?

My fear of using an actual city is that if I create a murder in a certain neighborhood or place of business, I may get sued if the book becomes popular and people think an actual murder happened there.

The advantage of a fictional city is that the author controls it through his/her world building. You can design the city anyway you like. The author can add something to it with each novel. You will see this in the second Alma Rossi novel. I added two fresh places to the School District.

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 3. Why did you choose a female protagonist like Alma Rossi?

I read all of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch books. When he added the Rennee Ballard series, I thought she presented a different type of detective. She used her intellect and cunning more where Bosch used his size and strength. A few books into the Ballard series, I decided I would use a female detective for my series.

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 4. What inspired the creation of the Alma Rossi detective series?

Once I knew I wanted a female detective, I spent years writing short stories to test out unique characters. My first one was Jaya Reece. She was a young black woman who was becoming a better detective. My problem was that, as an old white guy, I couldn’t do justice to a young, black character.

That got me thinking, and I realized I had dated several Italian women during my 20s. I also had a dear friend who grew up in the North End of Boston. That is an Italian neighborhood with some great Italian restaurants. Sadly, he passed before I could complete The Chameleon Killer.

The first thing I needed was a name for the character. I am a big believer in using simple names for protagonists. Only one or two syllables in the first name or in the second name. Harry Bosch: 2-1. Rennee Ballard: 2-2. Alma Rossi: 2-2.

Once I had the name, I wrote a few short stories, and I knew I had my protagonist. It was much easier thinking of Alma as a composite of the women I dated. I found I could do her voice and do her justice. My friend would have recognized the ode to him by making Alma from that neighborhood.

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 5. What first inspired you to start writing crime and detective fiction?

For many decades, I have read crime stories. It started with Crime and Punishment. Along the way, I read all of Connelly’s books. In recent years, I have read Victor Methos’s books and a few others. My dream of becoming a novelist was all about crime stories. My favorite show these days is Chicago PD. I watch many crime movies.

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 6. Which authors or books have influenced your storytelling style the most?

Connelly, for sure. I never wanted to copy anyone. If you read Connelly and Methos, you will see two completely different styles. I liked them both. People have told me my entire life that I have a dry sense of humor. I guess it shows up in my writing because many reviewers of The Chameleon Killer have remarked on my wry writing style. I have my style, and I think it shows through in my books.

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 7. How do your personal experiences or observations shape the themes in your books?

I grew up in a very Catholic household. I passed that faith onto Alma because I believe a strong faith could help anyone who sees the daily devastation. Growing up in a two-parent household meant Alma did the same.

Crime and justice and chaos are the other things that come to mind. Alma tries to serve justice on the killers, and she tries to calm the chaos anywhere it is happening in the city. I pushed those to extremes in The Chameleon Killer. The second book will not involve public killings because the citizens of Hillsford need a break.

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 8. How did you develop the character of Alma Rossi?

As mentioned above, I put a lot of thought into who Alma was and what her name was and then I tested her out in short stories. There is also part of Alma’s backstory that might explain her interest in being a police officer.

At age 10, she used to hang out at her parents’ Italian restaurant. There, she met a Boston female beat officer who had just become a detective. The woman always ordered takeout but never called it in. She would come to the restaurant, put her order in and seek Alma. They would talk about police work for 20 minutes or more for her order to be ready.

The other thing to know about Alma was that she knew by the time she was a teenager that she didn’t want an office job. She spent her high school summers as a lifeguard. As a detective, she gets a certain amount of freedom in her actions.

Finally, Alma drinks more iced coffee than anyone should in a day.

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 9. What makes Alma Rossi different from other detectives in the crime-thriller genre?

I wonder how many female detectives have black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? Alma earned that during her patrol years because it helped her leverage bigger suspects. How many of them have been Catholic women from Boston? I don’t know the answer to those questions. Also, Alma is still young in the first book - just 31. I did that because I need her to be available for the entire series.

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 10. How did you build the working dynamic between Alma Rossi and LT?

By the time Alma turned 18, she had joined the Hillsford Police Department as a patrol officer. Lieutenant Sophia Calderon was in her second year as a lieutenant, which informed Alma that she had been a detective during the same time as her restaurant friend. Alma has great respect for the women who paved the way for her career.

They also have a good rapport. I try to keep their conversations fun because Sophia is as proud of Alma as Alma has respect for her. It also helps that Calderon also worked the night shift as a detective and still does as a lieutenant. That is Alma’s favorite shift.

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11. What core themes does your series explore—justice, corruption, psychology, or something deeper?

Justice, psychology, and faith.

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 12. What inspired the creation of Hillsford as the setting for your series?

The first thing I did was think of a name and ensure it wasn’t an actual city. Then I placed it in San Diego County, California. Placing it before I designed it was important because I had to know the local flavor.

The reason I put it in San Diego County was that we lived there for seven years, and I enjoyed it a lot more than living in Los Angeles County. Besides, Connelly owns LA.

I looked at a map of San Diego County and picked a small area west of Poway and south of Lake Hodges. I am sure I borrowed land from some actual area, but I just wanted markers so people understood where the city was. That put it in North County, which I mentioned in the book.

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 13. What makes Hillsford unique compared to other fictional crime cities?

I don’t know about making it unique. However, let’s talk about some features of Hillsford and see what you think. Hillsford has four neighborhoods that I call districts.

The districts on the western side of the city are the School District to the north and the Technology District to the south. They split the length of Hillsford 50% to 50%. The two districts’ width is 40% of the width of the city.

The Technology District contains offices for technology companies and high-end condominiums for wealthy people.

In the first book, the School District had a lot of open land because I never told you about something there. The second book will reveal that. For now, the School District has two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school and many single-family homes.

The major north-south street that runs through those two districts is Technology Drive. There are six major streets in Hillsford, three east-west ones and three north-south.

The district down the middle of Hillsford is the Downtown District. There are many restaurants near the intersection of Commerce Boulevard and Main Street. HPD headquarters is located there also, and so is the Central Transportation Station. Alma’s favorite coffee shop is across Main Street from HPD. Going north and south on Commerce Boulevard, you will find many stores like retail, grocery, home improvement, etc. The Downtown District extends the full length of Hillsford and takes up 20% of its width.

The fourth district on the east side of the city is the Warehouse District. That one also occupies 40% of the width of the city and 100% of its length. It has railroad tracks to the east to make it easier to receive and send products and materials. Ware Avenue runs north-south through the Warehouse District.

The three east-west streets are School Street, Main Street, and Union Street. All of those run the full width of the city.

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 14. How do you make a fictional world feel real and believable to readers?

I write about things in the city like an actual city. It has congestion, skyscrapers, coffee shops, outdoor restaurants, a post office, etc. I designed the Central Transportation Station with three levels - trains on the lower level, buses, cabs, Uber and Lyft on the street level, and shopping on the top level. I think that gave it realism in the first book when a murder happened there.

The other thing is the people. Hillsford has professional and blue-collar residents. It has wealthy, average, and poor people. The group includes a mix of white, black, Hispanic, and Asian people. It does not differ from any other city in America.

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 15. How do you approach plotting murders, motives, and investigations?

The first thing I do is invent my killer and give them a name. From there, I try to decide what their life is about and what their grievance is that is causing them to kill. Next, I give the killer enough size to commit the murders. In The Chameleon Killer, I didn’t want a five-foot-five killer to do the type of murders in the book. It wouldn’t have been realistic.

Next, I sketch out each murder. Once I have an idea, I try to determine the reason for the killing. Now, each kill could have a different reason. With all the murders and motives in place, I decide how the investigation will go. What types of people will Alma interview? Witnesses? Friends? Co-Workers? Family?

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16. Do you outline your stories fully, or do you discover the plot as you write?

For the Chameleon Killer, I plotted the first fifteen scenes. From there, I let the story take me where it wanted to go, guided by a beat sheet I had. The book had no proper structure. It ended up with close to 100 scenes. I spent two years working on it because each change resulted in a new draft. By the time I made it through developmental editing, I had produced 58 drafts of the book. That was not sustainable.

For the second book, I adopted the Story Engineering book structure from Larry Brooks. I read that while The Chameleon Killer was going through proofreading. It amazed me. For the first time, I realized there was an easy way to plot an entire novel. He presents a four-act structure, with plot points, pinch points, and a midpoint.

I looked at that and realized I didn’t need beat sheets anymore. I spent ten hours plotting the first version of 58 scenes. It took about 2.5 hours per act. Brooks wrote that plotting would be easy once you had a proper concept. I tried three concepts before selecting the one I am using for the second book.

While on a recent trip overseas, I realized I needed to change some scenes I had plotted to increase the conflict. Those scenes are in Acts 2 and 3. I keep the list of scenes in a Microsoft Word document (the primary list) and in Novel Factory, where I keep my active plot. Fixing them won’t require a new draft of the book. The primary list came in handy when I accidentally deleted a scene in Novel Factory.

I expect the final version of the second book to have 60-plus scenes. That is a long way from 100. Amazingly, the more I write, the longer my scenes get, so the word count for the second book will be close to the one from the first book with 40 fewer scenes.

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17. How do you balance real-life criminal accuracy with engaging storytelling?

My focus for criminal accuracy is the crime scenes and the interrogations. I used the Police Procedure and Investigation book from Lee Lofland to teach me the proper way to handle these.

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 18. What can readers expect from Book Two coming in Q4 2026?

The citizens of Hillsford can rest easy. There will be no public murders in the second book. All murders will happen in private. Another serial killer will appear in Hillsford, and I think it will surprise you. Knowing Hillsford is my creation, I have to protect it in any way possible.

The fresh places being added to the School District are at the center of the killings. Stay tuned for that one.

I know that over the years, many serial killers will hit Hillsford, but I believe that as the HPD apprehends each one, the residents’ faith in the HPD will grow.

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 19. Do you have long-term plans for expanding the Alma Rossi universe?

At 61, I hope to write into my late seventies. That means at least 12 novels in the series. Additionally, Alma has a boyfriend in the second book. Maybe they will marry in a future book. I already have plans for new buildings in the Technology District for future books.

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 20. What message or emotional experience do you want readers to take away from your books?

First, I want readers to be entertained. Second, I want them to like Alma. I write from the first person for Alma and the killer to get readers as close to the characters as possible. That could drive a reader crazy if he or she doesn’t like Alma.

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 21. How do you see your author brand growing in the next few years?

I hope people appreciate my writing style, my protagonist and my books and people will think of me as someone who writes entertaining novels. If I accomplish those things, I hope readers come back for future stories.