Q1. Hello Sir, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
I was raised on a farm on the prairies in Canada. I studied to become an accountant and moved to Ottawa, Canada where I spent 33 years working in various finance related capacities for the federal government. After I retired in 2004, our son and I decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. That led to my first book, written with our son, which was called Kilimanjaro and Beyond: A Life-Changing Journey. Writing the first book turned out to be such an enjoyable experience, I wrote a memoir about travel with my in-laws, called I Guess We Missed the Boat. I turned to fiction after that and wrote The Vanishing Wife, which became the first in The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection. Three other books and a novella in the series followed. Each of the books stand alone, although the characters evolve. The Burden of Darkness is the latest in the series. Besides writing, I enjoy hiking, golf, reading, playing guitar and spending time with my three grandkids.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘The Burden of Darkness’ book?
Like all the books in The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection, The Burden of Darkness takes on a subject of social significance. The story is built around a character with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) so I wanted to make sure the condition and treatment were portrayed accurately. It involved research and interviews with subject matter experts. I knew where I wanted the story to go, but it was important to me to ensure that those elements of the story were factually correct, so that was a challenge.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
I think I’m an eclectic reader, but in the crime genre, I enjoy books by the likes of Jeffrey Deaver, Michael Connolly and Steve Berry. I’ve even started reading some books by Raymond Chandler who wrote crime fiction in the thirties. I don’t try to write like them because I think it’s important to have your own voice, but I’m always intrigued by what makes them so popular.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
I can’t pick just one. Canada is a beautiful and diverse country. If I have to narrow it down, I love to visit the Rocky Mountains in the west because, in my opinion, they challenge mountains anywhere for scenery. I also love to go back to the prairies where I grew up because of the memories it brings back.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
As mentioned above, each book in The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection has a socially relevant theme, so there is a lot of research that goes into them. I don’t know much about the theme going in, so I have to rely on research and interviews with subject matter experts to get it right.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘The Burden of Darkness’ book?
It took over a year from the time I started thinking about the subject to when it was edited, formatted and published.
Q7. On what all platforms readers can find ‘The Burden of Darkness’ book to buy?
Right now, the e-book is exclusive to Amazon so readers who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited can read it for free. The paperback version can be ordered from any retailer that sells books.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Burden of Darkness’?
I find that the title and cover fall out of the book at some point. I don’t go in with a preconceived notion, but eventually, it comes to me. The protagonist and antagonist are both suffering from life altering conditions, so they are both in a dark place and carrying a heavy burden. I wanted the cover to reflect the title obviously, so it is a scene of a (possibly) troubled individual watching the darkness fall. Part of the book takes place in Arizona, so the background is the desert.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
I build the stories around different themes. The Vanishing Wife is about how far an ordinary person will go if their family is threatened. A Perilous Question is about human trafficking. Never So Alone is about the drug culture and Remote Access is a political thriller about computer hacking. I have learned a great deal about a number of subjects since I started writing, and that keeps it fresh for me, and hopefully, the readers.
Q10. Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
The antagonist, Owen Strand, who has a terminal illness, wants to gain notoriety before he dies. He decides to seek revenge against those he deems to have wronged him, and he does so by traveling around North America picking them off one by one. I don’t think the blurb mentions that he does it with drones.
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The Burden Of Darkness
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