1. What is your genre? Is it fiction or nonfiction? Crime. Fiction
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3. What made you want to be a writer? It seemed the best outlet for my creative talents without applying too much effort.
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5. Of all the authors out there, who inspired you most? James M. Cain.
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7. What is your writing style? Do you outline? Linearly? By scene? Why? I know the beginning and the end of the story. From there I outline a chapter using bullets and refer to those bullets as I write the chapter.
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9. Do you write every day? How much? How long? Only on weekdays for two hours after watching Jeopardy with my wife. I can’t type, so I usually eek out ten to fifteen hand-written pages a night.

1. Do you think reading is as important to writing for an author? Why? You can’t write anything of quality unless you read prodigiously. I listen to sixty or so books a year and read about ten. I have a long commute to work.
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3. What are some of the things you would like to share with budding authors? Learn how to paint, instead. J Seriously, though, if you insist on self-flagellation, write and read whenever you can and the breaks will eventually come your way.
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5. Do you have any marketing and promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to share? Try to entice the employees and vendors in your workplace to buy, read, and review your book. If your book is good, they’ll spread the word.
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7. Do you think conferences are beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do you frequent? Conferences are the best place to find a publisher or agent or both. I’ve learned to attend a variety of conferences in order to get different perspectives on similar subjects. I like the Killer Nashville and Thrillerfest conferences.
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9. Where can we find you, your books and when is your next event? My website is at www.jjwhitebooks.com  My latest novel, Deviant Acts, was released in November by Black Opal Books. I will be interviewed on CrimeFiction.FM, December 10, at 11 am Eastern Time. Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency, Jeanie Loiacono www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/jj-white  

The Traveling Man 

 Series: The Travelers: Book One

Author: Michael P. King

Author's Web site: https://michaelpkingwriter.wordpress.com/

Genre: Crime Thriller

ISBN-13:9780986179600

Purchase The Traveling Man  

Reviewed by Kirkus Review

Husband and wife con artists must get back on their feet after a scheme goes spectacularly wrong in this criminally good debut by King.

Married hustlers Tom and Patty (or, at least, those are their aliases) arrive in a small town alongside their partner, Buddy Ray, with the intention of pulling off a lucrative con—selling contaminated lakefront land for a high price. Everything proceeds according to plan, until Buddy and Patty go against Tom’s instructions and take on a doomed side deal. From there, things take a dangerous turn, and Tom and Patty are left to pick up the pieces of their business and personal relationship (and heal more than a few physical wounds). After taking a monthslong break, the couple tries to get back in the game—with similarly messy results. On the spectrum of grays, these two are much closer to black than white. They cheat, steal, manipulate, blackmail and even kill when the moment calls for it. Yet readers might still find themselves white-knuckling their books (or e-readers) when the pair is in a tight spot. Despite the couple’s more questionable values, Tom and Patty’s relationship is based on love, loyalty and trust, and even they have their red lines: “We don’t scam civilians. Rule number two. We use them; we pay them; we stay out of jail.” Charismatic, levelheaded Tom is especially likable despite his criminality. It also doesn’t hurt that Robert and Pamela Johnson (as they call themselves in the second half of the book) are more than once pitted against an even more cutthroat thug who makes them look like the good guys. Surrounding them is a cast of superbly sketched characters whose competing motives constantly trip up their plans, such as Marcie, the overconfident, small-time real estate agent they’ve looped into their land-sale con. With a story every bit as intricate and entertaining as the personalities who fill it, King’s uncommonly solid debut is a must-read.

An absorbing, deviant tale of redemption.