Cate: Please welcome J. R. Lindermuth. John, will you please share a short bio with us?John: I’m a native of Pennsylvania, a retired newspaper writer and editor and currently librarian of my county historical society where I assist patrons with genealogy and research.
I’ve published eight novels, including four in the Sticks Hetrick mystery series. I’ve also published stories and articles in a variety of magazines, both print and on line.
Cate: Oh, very cool. My sister's been researching our family.
Tell us about Being Someone Else and where it's available.
John: Being Someone Else, fourth in the Hetrick series, was published in July by Whiskey Creek Press and is available in both print and electronic formats from http://whiskeycreekpress.com/store/ and various other outlets.
Cate: Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
John: Here's a link to an excerpt:
http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/chapters/BeingSomeoneElse_JRLindermuth.shtml
Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?
John: I’ve always been fascinated by disappearances, switched identifies and similar mysteries.
Cate: How do you develop your plots and characters?John: I’m more of a pantster than an outliner. My outlines are generally so brief, just a scattering of words to serve as reminders of the direction I’m going, they would be totally meaningless to anyone else. Generally I start with a specific character in a situation and go from there.
Cate: Do you feel as if the characters live with you as you write? Do they haunt your dreams?
John: Definitely. And they grow in depth day by day.
Cate: What's next for you?
John: I’m in the early stages of several concepts, including another Hetrick. Two other completed books have been contracted with another publisher and I’m awaiting release dates.
Cate: Congrats on the contracts! Any other published works?
John: In addition to BSE, the other Hetrick books are Something In Common, Cruel Cuts and Corruption’s Child. Then there are three historicals--Watch The Hour, The Accidental Spy and Schlussel’s Woman—and a mainline, St. Hubert’s Stag.
Cate: Describe your writing in three words.
John: Complex, evocative, entertaining.
Cate: What’s the most challenging aspect of writing? Most rewarding?
John: Broadening the audience. Promotion is a daunting, on-going challenge but necessary if one is to compete with all the other books out there demanding a reader’s attention.
The most rewarding? Pleasing a reader and having them come back for more.
Cate: Amen to that! What’s the most interesting comment you have received about your books?
John: A fellow writer said my books have ‘magnum sizzle.’ I rather like that.
Cate: Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
John: Too many to list and I’m constantly finding new ones to admire. Perennial favorites among contemporaries would be James Lee Burke and Ruth Rendell. I’m currently enjoying Tim Hallinan’s Poke Rafferty series.
Cate: Where can you be found on the web?
John: My webpage: http://jrlindermuth.com. My blog: http://jrlindermuth.blogspot.com Facebook, Myspace, Authorsden, Crimespace.ning, publishedauthors.ning, Goodreads, Shelfari, etc., etc.
Cate: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
John: I’m grateful if they’ve taken the time to read this and I hope they’ll try one of my books and see if I actually do have ‘sizzle.’
Cate: Especially magnum sizzle! Thanks for being my guest, John! Best of luck to you.
