BooksChatter: ℚ Dead Is Dead: Jack Bertolino [3]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author John Lansing to talk about Dead Is Dead (30 May 2016, Gallery Books/Karen Hunter Publishing, 352 pages), a Crime Thriller, book three of the Jack Bertolino series.

Author Q&A | Synopsis | The Series | About the Author | Giveaways & Tour Stops

A very warm welcome to John Lansing; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

What was the inspiration for Dead Is Dead?

"I think I had read one too many stories about drive by shootings in the Los Angeles area where a child was killed by a stray bullet. And then I thought about life imitating art, and the tragedy became the impetus, the way in, to tell the story of Dead Is Dead."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"A lot. Emotionally, there are pieces of myself in most of the characters I write. Technically, I pulled from my many years as an actor to write the sequences for the actress in my novel, Susan Blake."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Dead Is Dead - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"The art department at Simon & Schuster created the cover art for all three of my Jack Bertolino novels. I’ve been very fortunate to work with such talented people. One of the most important things a cover can do for a writer – since most people will be viewing the cover in a postage-stamp-sized rendering – is to have that cover jump off the page, or the computer screen, and catch the reader’s attention. I think my new cover does that very well. It also conveys danger, and I think it’s clear that Dead Is Dead is a crime/thriller."

Why should we read Dead Is Dead and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"I try and write complex characters with deep, resonant, emotional lives. My protagonist, retired inspector, Jack Bertolino, is a man standing on a precipice. After suffering a contentious divorce, and a fall doing cleanup at ground zero that all but destroyed his back and sent him into early retirement, Jack moved west, bought a loft in Marina del Rey, ready to reinvent himself.

Jack gets his first taste of the capricious nature of Hollywood when George Litton, an A list producer, options one of Jack’s recent cases that achieved international notoriety. The studio agrees to green light the film if Litton can sign New York actress Susan Blake, the new “It Girl,” to play the lead.

Jack is engaged as the technical advisor on Litton’s noir police thriller currently filming on location in Venice, California and starring Susan Blake. But more importantly, to keep a protective eye on Susan, who’s also being harassed by a cyber stalker.

When a six year old girl is shot dead in the living room of her parents’ home, just blocks from where Litton’s cop movie is filming, Jack Bertolino gets pulled onto a case with threads connecting the movie, and the murder."

What is in store next?

"I’m currently writing the 4th book in the Jack Bertlolino series. It’s titled The Fourth Gunman. It’s too early in the process to talk story, but I will be revisiting the regular cast of characters that inhabit Jack’s universe, and the reader will be able to see how they evolve as the series progresses."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I’m writing this interview, my dog Lucky, is sitting under my desk as he does every day. He’s a twenty-four pound apricot poodle who reminds me to get up and walk him at least four times a day. He’s my best buddy and a great companion."