BooksChatter: ℚ The Wrong Kind: Hannibal Jones Mysteries [7]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Austin S. Camacho to talk about The Wrong Kind (1 December 2019, Intrigue Publishing LLC, 256 pages), a Mystery, book seven in the Hannibal Jones Mysteries series.

"An utterly brilliant read! Camacho consistently manages to thread the needle of creating breathtaking plots and rich psychological insights into the characters he populates his books with. The Wrong Kind lives up to his high standards. And, let’s face it, Hannibal Jones is one of the best heroes in modern thriller fiction. I love him! This book is a must-read!" — Jeffery Deaver, international best selling author of The Bone Collector and The Never Game

|| Synopsis || Teaser: Excerpt || The Series || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

A very warm welcome to Austin S. Camacho; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

What was the inspiration for The Wrong Kind ?

"I’ve given my detective a couple of previous cases that start with a missing person. I was driven to do it again but in a totally different way.

Also, at a conference I was exposed to a method of murder I had never considered. I was inspired to find a way to use that murder method. And it was great fun!"

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

"The truth is, there’s some of me in every character I create, good and bad. But it’s mostly about imagination. My protagonist, Hannibal Jones isn’t so much me as who I wish I was. So it is mostly my values that are reflected in this book."

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

"I have to admit that I had nothing to do with the cover design. Intrigue Publishing gave the assignment to graphic designer Ginnefine. She read an extended synopsis and came up with that stirring inner-city representation. I love it, and I hope others do too."

Why should we read The Wrong Kind and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"All of the Hannibal Jones novels, including The Wrong Kind, explore the basic themes of old-school hard boiled detective novels. In the 1940s and 50s that meant the clash between the rich and poor in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Today we have the same issues in Washington DC where Hannibal Jones solves his cases. So if you enjoyed reading about Spenser, Phillip Marlowe or Travis McGee you’ll love these stories.

The big difference is that I’m writing a mixed-race character. So in addition to the usual mystery I get to explore the racial tensions in DC and delve into the African American community in a way that draws readers into it."

Can you tell us something quirky about The Wrong Kind , its story and characters?

"What I think is quirky about my book, in fact the entire series, is the odd relationship between my private detective and the Virginia police detective Orson Rissik. Despite mutual respect it’s sometimes hard to tell if they are friends or enemies. I enjoy writing their interactions and it helps propel the storylines."

Who would you recommend The Wrong Kind to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"I’d recommend this novel to anyone who likes a twisting mystery that keeps them guessing until the end. To anyone who wants to get the feel and atmosphere of the area in and around Washington DC, and to those who enjoy interaction between a cast of diverse and fascinating characters. And you never have to worry about graphic sex or violence, or a barrage of bad language in a Hannibal Jones novel."

If you could / wished to turn The Wrong Kind and the Hannibal Jones Mysteries series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"I would love to have Gordon Parks, director of the original Shaft movie, as director, but would happily settle for Roman Polanski who directed Chinatown.

And it would have to be shot in Washington, Northern Virginia and nearby parts of Maryland. "

Oh, wow, those directors definitely set a mood.

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"It was my lifelong love of mysteries and thrillers that led me to write them. I love creating action and adventure stories, but even more I like to construct a puzzle that pays off in the end by showing how the clues led the detective to the right answer.

I started writing what I loved most, which was detective novels – the work of Chandler, Hammett, Ross MacDonald and Rex Stout. Over time I got turned on to other types of mysteries and now I’m planning a police procedural and a legal thriller. We’ll see where that goes."

What is your writing process?

"That’s a more challenging question than you might realize.

I always start with an outline, and it gets to be pretty detailed before I start actually writing prose.

I write every day, usually early in the morning, and I don’t try to edit along the way. I write the book straight through from beginning to the end, then go back and rewrite a couple of times.

But as far as how characters form, which events take place and how a theme emerges, there’s a certain amount of that stuff that seems like magic to me. I don’t really know how that stuff happens, but thank goodness it does happen when I sit at the keyboard."

What is in store next?

"There will certainly be more Hannibal Jones novels but I never write the same series twice in a row. And I never know what’s going to happen in a book until I sit down to create the outline.

My current work in progress is a novel about a character I created for a short story – Skye, an African American female professional assassin in Washington DC. She lives in the same universe as Hannibal Jones and in the still-forming manuscript she meets some of the minor characters In Hannibal’s books. In the book she gets hired to kill a crime boss who is trying to pull the gangs in DC together into one cartel."

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?

"Sorry I don’t really have a pet. My lovely wife Dee has a cat, Princess, and we tolerate each other but she is certainly not special to me. I’m not a cat person, and not really prone to talismans. I feel as though this makes me sound like a pretty UN-interesting person, but I guess only people interest me. And that may be why I ended up writing mystery novels which, ultimately, are all about human motivations."

Not uninteresting at all. It is, in fact, interesting to learn why you don't have a particular attachment to anything material. :-D

Thank you for sharing!