Q: How did you come up with the idea for Body Broker, and
for your character Jack Dixon?
A: I haven't read as much detective fiction as I have
fantasy, but I'd read a fair bit, and I felt like I could maybe tackle it.
Jack was a pretty easy character to come up with; I took
some things about myself (I go to the gym a lot, I eat a lot of peanut butter,
I count calories) and dialed them up to 11. Then I gave him the kind of
background that might lead someone to becoming a private investigator (the
military, a brief stint as a cop) with the requisite problems for a lead
character in the genre
I was very consciously
trying to enter into the tradition of characters like Marlowe, Spenser, McGee,
or Longmire, while also trying to make him, hopefully, a little more of a 21st
century man than some of those examples.
So I knew I wanted to start with some sort of shady rehab
operation, and how there really are people who look for vulnerable people with
good insurance so they can be bilked by shady rehab operations. The rest
emerged as I wrote.
Q: This is your first detective story after writing several
fantasy novels--why did you decide to focus on detective fiction this time, and
is your writing process similar despite the shift in genre?
A: I felt that I needed to get sharply away
from Paladin and related works, and eventually from fantasy entirely.
I had a few fits and starts writing fantasy short stories that didn't get
anywhere. So I knew I had to get away from it.
I had been kicking around a couple different ideas in either
detective fiction or “pulp adventure.” I also knew that regardless of what I
did next, I didn't want to spend a lot of time world-building and worrying
about creating new geography, so I wanted to set it in an area I knew well;
near the Chesapeake Bay.
My writing process hasn't changed at all. I try to write as
close to every day as possible, at least five days a week. I work at night,
usually isolated in a room by myself, with the internet shut off via
focus-enhancing software.
Q: Can you say more about how important setting is to you in
your writing?
A: Extremely. Like I said above, both of the ideas I was
considering involved a waterfront life along the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding
waterways. I grew up in Maryland, in the same area as Jack Dixon did (though
I'm reasonably sure he went to a rival high school). I work in the county he
lives in, I live in part of the area he covers while pursuing his
investigation.
I wanted to avoid major cities and put Jack in a place where
a reader normally doesn't think about encountering a private detective.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: First and foremost, I want them to be entertained. I want
them to enjoy spending time in Jack's head, to be intrigued to learn more about
him, to enjoy the other characters and his interactions with them. I want them
to be satisfied but also hungry for more.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: The line-by-line edit of the ARC of Cheap Heat, the
next Jack Dixon novel. The first two books of a proposed sequel series
to The Paladin Trilogy. Assorted fantasy short stories, and another
fantasy series.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Every cocktail Jack makes in any book is guaranteed to
have been one I have tested extensively, whether at home or in a bar. Readers
who are interested in recipes should feel free to hit me up on
Twitter @soundingline and I am happy to share.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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