Interview with Ron Adams

Today's interview is with the mystery writer Ron Adams. His series of books center around a PI named Joe Banks. In our interview we cover whether he should kill me off in one of his books and we talk about pie!

So without further ado, here is my interview with Ron Adams-the uncut version:

On a scale of 1-10, how awesome do you think I am? Be honest. You can go higher than 10 if you like. (No excuses about how you don’t know me and stuff like that).

On a scale of 1-10, you are off the awesomeness chart for allowing up and coming writers like me a chance to connect further with my audience. I do what I do to help entertain the readers, and this is a nice forum to spread the word about my novels.

I noticed the title of your first book is called Lake Effect. Was that inspired by the term Lake Effect snow? Because I see you’re from the Buffalo, New York area and I hear that term a lot for that part of the country. Maybe because we watch the Weather channel 24 hours a day…but I digress. What’s the book about?

As a matter of fact, the title does come from the winter storms that blow in from Lake Erie. This is the first in the Joe Banks series I am currently working on, and introduces Joe and his family to the audience. In Lake Effect, Joe is called into the investigation of a carjacking and murder on the shores of Lake Erie. He is soon caught up in a blizzard of lies and deceit as he races to solve the murders of two innocent children. It is really a story about families, and how far a man will go to protect everything he holds precious.

And as far as the legendary “snow in Buffalo” goes, let me set the record straight. Syracuse gets much more snow, but let’s face it, Syracuse jokes just aren’t funny.

Your latest book is called Key Line Squeeze, which might explain my sudden craving for pie. Mmm…pie. Anyway, what’s this one about?

Key Lime Squeeze follows Joe Banks as he tracks runaway husband and insurance executive, Robert Boothby, from Buffalo all the way to Key West. But this is no ordinary midlife crisis victim, because he runs away with the money he helped his criminal in-laws steal from his own company, and Banks finds himself saddled with the family’s enforcer for a traveling companion. They soon discover they aren’t the only ones looking for Boothby, leading to a confrontation with Banks’ old mentor-turned-mercenary who is looking not only to recover the stolen money, but also to blackmail the Cantolinos at the same time. The job becomes a game of cat and mouse with the Cantolino crime family, as allies become enemies, and enemies turn to allies, with help coming from a most surprising source. Even the police can’t be trusted when there’s so much money at stake. The story twists and turns to the very end, as Banks discovers who to trust, and who’s in on the squeeze.

By the way, my wife makes an awesome Key Lime Pie. I’d be happy to send the recipe sometime.

I see you write mysteries. Do you think you can name a character after me and then kill me off? That would be cool.

Let’s see how you like this…

[Melanie Anderson entered my office on a warm spring day, carrying a leather folio bag and looking every bit the part of the upwardly mobile attorney. She wore a very flattering navy blue skirt suit with a faint pink pinstripe, the hem of the skirt falling professionally at the knee. The pale pink silk blouse was strategically buttoned to show the appropriate amount of cleavage, enough to distract but not wanton. Her chestnut brown hair was done behind her in a French twist, her makeup and jewelry very professionally understated. The combination of knee length skirt and high heels made her legs look longer. And as legs go, they were worth looking longer. She had an effortless sway to her walk, and I’m sure she was very effective in the courtroom, or the boardroom, or the catwalk for that matter. She extended a well-manicured hand, and handed me her card.

“Mr. Banks,” she said, sitting and crossing at the knees. “You come very highly recommended.”

“By some, I suppose,” I replied. “Not so much by others.”

“The same could be said about me, I imagine,” she said, smiling. “But we all do the best we can, don’t we?”]

How does that work for you, Miss Mel? I mean, I couldn’t kill you off in the first paragraph now could I?

Since you are a mystery writer, can you tell me what happens to all of my son’s pencils? I swear I buy him a hundred of them in the beginning of the school year and they all disappear. That could be a good book! They Mystery of the Number Two…hmm…maybe not.

My wife and have two ten year olds, and I never worry about where the pencils go, but I’d love to know where the time disappears to. Between work, home, activities, and writing, there never seems to be enough time to just wind down and breathe. That is the mystery I would love to be able to figure out. I’d also like to know what happens to all the twist ties on the bread bags in our house.

Time for the hard hitting question… Do you collect anything?

I used to collect rejection slips, and for a short time I was collecting speeding tickets like they were green stamps, but I gave that up. I own a few guitars, a banjo, a violin, and a tippel ukulele but I don’t consider that a collection, really. I guess when you get right down to it, I collect stories. I have stories from my friends, my family, people I meet in line at the supermarket, everywhere. Everyone has a story. I’m just lucky enough to be able to write a few down.

From your website, I see you’re a physical therapist… Which is not the kind of therapy I need, but that’s beside the point. Do you enjoy your job?

I do, Mel, very much. The greatest thing about my job is the difference I get to make in someone’s life everyday, in some small way. I enjoy listening and talking to the people I work with, my patients, and to be honest it beats most of the things I did for a living before I got my degree.

Even if you don’t kill me off (which would be cool, you have to admit!), what are you writing now?

Right now, I have 3-4 projects in the works. First, I have the third Joe Banks novel underway, with the working title of Crossing Midnight. This will have Joe and Solomon taking on a human trafficking ring in the search for a missing girl. Second is a piece of speculative fiction, entitled Wounded Angels. The third piece I have going is an attempt at science fiction called Terminal Jack. And I have written a few short stories lately in the horror suspense genre, so I have been toying with the idea of doing a collection of shorts under the title of Shadows and Night.

Okay, this is your turn to add whatever you want. Promote, etc… I’ll be over here trying to solve the mystery of why there’s never any pie in my house.

I would like to invite you and all your friends to check out any of my sites here on the web. My main site is at www.ronaldwadams.com, where I’ll have information regarding the book release, contests, reviews, and a host of other stuff. I also maintain blogs at www.ronaldwadams.blogspot.com, www.rwadams.wordpress.com, and a short story site at www.shadowsandnight.blogspot.com. For more information, you could also check out my myspace page at www.myspace.rwadams.com. I love hearing from the readers, and look forward to sharing more stories with them for years to come.

Thanks again, Mel, and I’ll be seeing you all on the shelves of your favorite book stores.