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Q & A With Brian
Q. Tell us about Poised to Kill. Is it a sequel to Bound to Die? No, it’s not a sequel. I decided to let Tori and Kyle get on with their lives. Poised to Kill starts a new series of mysteries set in the corporate world. My protagonist, Hal Dwyer, is a corporate executive who is targeted by extortionists who present him with a dilemma: Either turn over top secret anti-missile software from his defense contractor employer, or forfeit the life of his twelve-year-old daughter. Hal comes up with a creative solution to the problem in the short term, but runs into huge difficulties in trying to identify the kidnappers.
Q. How has Poised to Kill been received? The response has been terrific. The reviews I’ve gotten have been, if anything, even better than Bound to Die. I’m a bit relieved; I think every first-time author worries about a sophomore slump.
Q. How would you categorize Poised to Kill? It’s a mystery-thriller. It’s very fast-moving, and contains a lot of action. I don’t think readers will have to worry about boredom. But mystery fans won’t be disappointed, either—there are a lot of opportunities for spotting clues and identifying the bad guys.
Q. Where did you get the idea for Poised to Kill? Like a lot of people, I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of disappearing and changing identities. That’s a pretty common fantasy, I think. I decided to build a mystery around that idea, but I had to think of a reason for someone to disappear. That, I think, is what makes this story unique: combining the idea of disappearing with the threat of an extortion plot.
Q. Do you have plans for future books? Oh, yes, I’m hard at work on a sequel to Poised to Kill. I think Hal and other characters from the book have a lot of potential. I also like the corporate world as a setting for mystery and intrigue. As far as I know (and I could well be wrong), there is no current mystery series with a continuing character who investigates wrongdoing in major corporations.
Q. Why corporations? To me, big business seems a natural setting for murder and mayhem. You’ve got a fast-moving environment, with huge amounts of money at stake, large-than-life personalities, and careers to be made or broken. All you have to do is look at the news: Enron, Martha Stewart, Adelphia, Tyco, Worldcom. There’s so much juicy stuff out there, it’s enough to make me concerned about staying ahead of the headlines.
Q. Can you give us a sneak preview of your third book? Number three doesn’t have a title yet, but I’m well along in the writing. I can tell you that Hal returns to Minnesota to help a corporation whose CEO has quit abruptly and disappeared. And Marie and Ted help him. That’s about all I should say.
Q. Your first book, Bound to Die, was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award. Tell us about that experience. It was sort of a surreal experience. I became the least known author, published by the smallest press, to be nominated in that category. The other nominee was John Sandford, who has sold—oh, a few million more books than I have, and is one of the top mystery authors in the world. With competition like that, I didn’t spend a lot of time honing my acceptance speech, and of course Sandford won. But the experience was terrific. I got to go to a nice awards ceremony at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul, attended by a veritable Who’s Who of Minnesota authors and publishers. The award was presented by William Kent Krueger, a terrific author and a terrifically nice and supportive guy. My one disappointment was not getting to meet John Sandford, who was on national tour; he’s always been one of my favorite authors.
Q. How has your life changed since you became a published author? Well, I haven’t found an abundance of fame or fortune, if that’s what you mean. On a practical level, life has become busier. Being an author means a lot of promoting as well as writing. For me, getting out to do an appearance or teach a class or attend a conference means getting a lot of rest, as well as finding a babysitter for our two young children. Now, I don’t want it to sound as though being an author is a pain; it’s not. It’s been a life-changing experience for me. It’s allowed me to do what I love doing—that’s a chance some people never get. I’m thankful for each and every day of it.
Q. What has been your most memorable book appearance? I’ve done appearances at a number of local bookstores, as well as some libraries and book clubs. I’ve truly enjoyed them all; the chance to get out and talk to people about books in general, and about my work, is special. But I think the most fun I had was an appearance where I didn’t sell a single book. I appeared before 100 fifth graders at Snail Lake Elementary School in Shoreview to talk about how to write mysteries (my son hid, silent, in the back row). I was wondering how I was going to fill an entire hour, but we ended up going much longer. These kids were attentive, talented, and funny. It was also a humbling experience, because the kids asked some very challenging questions. Afterward, a few asked me for my autograph! I was stunned. Rock star for a day! |
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Corporate Crime Can Be Murder |
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Award-Winning Mystery Author
Brian Lutterman
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