Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Hello Readers! My name is Bob Kelly. I grew up in the great city of Chicago living on the city’s West Side until age 13. At that time we moved to the North Shore suburb of Glencoe where I attended New Trier East High School.. I have always loved sports and as a kid via played youth football and basketball. I carried that on to New Trier where I played basketball and was voted Captain my senior year.
I attended the University of Wisconsin earning a degree in English Literature and then Chicago-Kent School of Law graduating with a J.D. Before beginning law school I worked several different jobs including selling athletic apparel, bartending and coaching professional basketball in Austria.
In 1985 I had a child with my live in girlfriend and seven weeks later we moved from Evanston to Upstate New York to be near her family because her father was about to undergo quadruple bypass surgery. My expectation was that we would return to the Chicago area but when she decided to stay in New York I stayed with her. I was not about to leave my infant son, Morgan. Since I did not have a law license in New York, my choice of jobs in rural Upstate included substitute teaching, coaching junior high basketball and bartending. Throughout this time I wrote several novels and a couple of screen plays.
Just before my son turned seven I became a single father. We moved into a one bedroom apartment and while I kept working as a server at night and began preparing to take the New York Bar Exam. I couldn’t afford the classes but was able to purchase the basic outlines. So, thirteen years after graduating fro law school I sat for the two day New York Bar Exam.
Fortunately, I passed and was able to begin a solo practice after being sworn in on June 21, 1994. The fastest way for me to get started was to jump into criminal defense representing indigent defendants and representing children in Family Court. I continued to do that until June 1, 2023.
However, in May of 2020 while the courts were closed due to COVI and my son no longer with me I decided it was now ornerier to pursue my dream of becoming a writer.
I had developed my focus which was to write about my hometown of Chicago was like currently while touching on its essence that had made me love it as a child and young man. my idea was to use young vibrant contemporary people involved with the most basic and dynamic inner workings of the city. Thus Jack Fallon and Elaina Rodriguez were born.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Exotic Escort Murders”?
Since I had not lived in Chicago in such a long time and only visited a couple of times a year I decide that I needed to spend more time in the city and keep up with current events daily. So, I subscribed to the Chicago Tribune and began visiting four and then six and now eight times a year. My actual physical presence in Chicago has been crucial to my ability to write about it.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
Honestly, I was a voracious reader since around 5th grade when my reading level was already that of a 12th grader. I think it was the “Adventures of Marco Polo” that first got me hooked. I then started ready every adventure and mystery story I could find.
In college my exposure to the great novelists such as William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald and many others was challenging and enriching. Everything from Shakespeare to James Joyce to Kurt Vonnegut was fascinating to me. I never stopped enjoying the stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and during one winter spent in Denmark without a television I read more than 40 Nero Wolfe mysteries, Lord of the Rings and several historical fictions my Morgan Llywelyn among others.
More recently, I have particularly enjoyed reading stories by John Grisham and Stephen King. But, during much of my time as a single parent and lawyer I did not read or write much for fun.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
Right now my favorite place to visit in America is Chicago. The city is so dynamic and diverse that there are always new things to discover. However, I am always drawn to Lake Michigan. I love to be near it in the parks and on the beaches.During the summer I swim in the lake whenever I can.
Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Exotic Escort Murders’?
My desire to connect with Chicago as it currently lives and breathes inspired me to create characters who express the particular qualities of the people experiencing it every day. My feeling is that while so many things have changed over the years there are intrinsic characteristics of Chicago people that have remained the same.
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Exotic Escort Murders’?
The writing of the first full draft of the story of “Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Exotic Escort Murders” took three and a half months. The editing process added another six months.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?
My first book the Mystery of the Exotic Escort Murders was published by Austin Macauley and is available o Amazon and Barnes&Noble in print and ebook. Amazon Audibles offers an audiobook.
My next book due out some time in August titled “Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Egg of Chaos” will be self published and will be available in print and ebook at Amazon and Barnes&Noble. The audio book will be available on Amazon Audibles in September.
My third book, “Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Legally Dead” should be out in November.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Exotic Escort Murders’?
The titles for my books so far have all been solely my ideas. I told Austin Macauley what I wanted asa cover and they did a great job with it.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
I have a concept for the story and then it develops over time even while I am still working on another story. When I am finished with the previous one and have a clear idea of the first chapter and general direction of the ending I begin writing. So much of the story is created during the writing that everything is always fresh and fun.
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
I really do not have one specific teacher, mentor or piece of advice to refer to. For me the single most important thing that changed from when I began writing to when I started up again in 2020 was that I had lived and experienced a lot more. I purposely have not tried to copy any other writer or writing style.
Buy Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Exotic Escort Murders on Amazon
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