1. What is your genre? Is it fiction or nonfiction? I write mystery-thrillers as well as science fiction and sports non-fiction.

2. What made you want to be a writer? When I was in grade school I was always coming up with “stories” that I would write down and I haven’t ever stopped.

3. Of all the authors out there, who inspired you most? At first it was Edgar Allan Poe and H.G. Wells. But more recently, I would have to say Jack McDevitt.

4. What is your writing style? Do you outline? Linearly? By scene? Why? I like to create three dimensional characters that the readers can fully connect with, put them into a situation that really puts them to the test and hopefully take the reader on a great ride from the first page until the last. I outline because I like have each step of the story fully laid out before I begin. The one quirk I have is that I write the opening chapter first and then I write the last chapter before going back to end of the first chapter and finishing the story from there.

5. Do you write every day? How much? How long? I try to write every day (when life manages to stay out of the way long enough of course) and for as long as I can. (Anywhere from an hour up to a 14-hour marathon I put in during From The Fields).

6. Do you think reading is as important to writing for an author? Why? I do. You can learn a lot about crafting a story by reading other stories, especially those in the genre you are writing in.  

7. What are some of the things you would like to share with budding authors? Keep writing, no matter what. It took me 15 years from the time I sat down and decided to write my first sci-fi novel until the time I had finished it and it was published. My mystery-thriller, Reservations, which was just released is the prequel to a movie script I wrote in 1998. The lesson is: Never give up on your writing, no matter how gloomy things may appear to you at the present.

8. Do you have any marketing and promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to share? Be relentless and shameless. Never pass up an opportunity to post a link to your book on social media no matter how much of a stretch it may seem to be. I once posted a flyer about one of my books in a sandwich shop.

9. Do you think conferences are beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do you frequent? I do. You get a chance to meet potential readers face to face. Sometimes you will sell a few books. Sometimes you won’t sell a thing, but someone you met at the event will buy a copy online and hopefully tell their friends how good your book was and how cool it was that they met you.

10. Where can we find you, your books and when is your next event? My website is: www.richardpaolinelli.com and all of my books are on the main page. Click on the covers and the link will take you to each book’s page on Amazon.com. I have a radio appearance on Dec. 13^th but my next in-person event is the Tucson Festival of Books at the University of Arizona on March 12th & 13^th. www.richardpaolinelli.com  Paolinelli Events www.facebook.com/RichardPaolinelli1964 Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency, Jeanie Loiacono http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/richard-paolinelli/

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.