Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York in the neighborhood of Park Slope. Anyone currently familiar with that community will speak of its affluence. However, when I was growing up there in the 1970's and 1980's, it was anything but that. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I learned how to stay alive in those streets at an early age. Ultimately, my survival strategy was to get out. Consequently, I thank those dark times for providing me with the clarity of thought necessary to move forward in a positive manner. I left NYC to attend The University of Iowa and, eventually, The University of Tulsa College of Law. Growing up in that environment influences my writing on a daily basis as I compose and create tales of seemingly undefeatable circumstances with varying outcomes.
What's the story behind your latest book?
Assassin's Breach is the title of my most recent book and is the first in a four-part series. The background for why I chose to write this series is as follows: In December of 2010, a lottery ticket purchased in Iowa matched all of the numbers drawn. The jackpot prize was $16.5 million dollars. The deadline to claim the prize was one year. Eleven months later, the prize was still outstanding. Two days before it expired, a lawyer from New York appeared at Iowa lottery headquarters with the winning ticket in hand. The signature on the ticket was for a Trust based in the country of Belize. Iowa law requires the identity of anyone that purchases a jackpot winning ticket. The attorney refused to cooperate, claiming his client could not comply. Instead, he attempted to claim the winnings on behalf of his ghost client. When pressed further by Iowa authorities, the attorney dropped the claim for the jackpot prize altogether and returned to NYC. As a result, Iowa authorities launched a criminal investigation into the matter, which has taken their investigators around the globe. Incredibly, that investigation is still active to date with no final outcome.
I decided to build this whodunit into my story writing. As a result, a fictional tale surrounding this mystery will appear in Assassin's Breach and in the second novel in my series, to be titled Patriot Traitor.
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