What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Moonlight Rip Tide?
Moonlight Rip Tide is the latest installment of the Moonlight series and as such most of the inspiration (and the characters) come from Moonlight Beach, Moonlight Canyon along with the Satanists from Moonlight Rocks. I also got a lot my inspiration from current events, news stories, and what people are talking about, including bits of overheard conversations.
The themes in Moonlight Rip Tide: crime, the police, the politicians and the decline of democracy, business and technology in China… are all in the news and are constantly being talked about. Most of the Venture Capital and the China business scenes (including the secret factory) come from my own experiences.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Moonlight Rip Tide, what would they be?
Susan loves to dance and move (she’s similar to Jennifer Beals in “Flashdance”) so she likes fast dance music like “One Kiss” by Dua Lipa or “Sugar” by Maroon 5 when it’s cranked up.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I read most everything: history, science, business, travel and fiction… At one time, I wanted to write about venture business and Asia as a straight up non-fiction, this is how it is book, so I arranged to study and interview some very rich and successful venture capitalists… however the information I gleaned from those studies turned me in another direction and went into parts of my novels, “Moonlight Beach” and “Moonlight Rip Tide”, as well as “Tokyo Games” and “Osaka Games” all of which feature VCs from California. Names etc. have been changed to protect everyone including me.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
Fiction: “Fairy Tale” by Stephen King and I’m sure that I’m not the only one with that book on the pile. However like other Stephen King books, I’m halfway through and I may not finish it. Stephen King is like one of my other favorite authors, Mick Herron who tortures or kills off the characters I like. I’ve killed off a few characters in my books too but I can always bring them back as ghosts or spirit guides or even as new born babies however, Mick didn’t give himself those options as far as I can tell. But, anything goes in a Stephen King book which is good in a bad way at times.
I sometimes worry that my characters are getting into some kind of nasty spot or even sexual or gender trouble but then I think, “what would Stephen do?” and that worry goes away because anything goes in a Stephen King books… and as long as I don’t stoop too low like Stephen does, in my opinion, it’s okay.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
I like the opening scene with Mona and Ben, gearing up to have sex in a car. However, another one of my favorite “Moonlight Rip Tide” scenes is towards the end of the book where a group of “patients” in a facility for the criminally insane argue with each other about who’s tough and who’s really insane, until a nurse comes around with their morning meds.
It’s really hard to pick a favorite scene because they’re my children all clamoring for attention like the “I’m mad as hell” scene with Ike when Ben and Sam were trying to get him to run for political office. Then there’s the scene where Henry dissects a kidney… See? It’s impossible to pick just one scene from a book about sex, drugs, politics, murder, venture business and kidney transplants along with spirit guides, Satan, and gender issues.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I’m always writing and I write everywhere: in bed or on planes, on boats, on trains, in bars and restaurants and even on park benches. Sometimes I’m just writing, working on a story and sometimes I’m editing again and again, trying to shave off excessive words, sentences or paragraphs… and sometimes I’m watching and listening, picking up bits and pieces of people and their conversations then making notes on scraps of paper or on my phone…
All that could be construed as creepy lurking but a smile keeps me out of trouble. I usually describe these story gathering processes in the “Dear Reader (author’s note)” in all of my books.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
Aim higher, do better…
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
Be skeptical. If the insurance company says, “we’ll take good care of you…” don’t believe them. If the politicians say, “Vote for me I’ll set you free…” you may want to think about that since it could mean the opposite and if anyone says, “Don’t worry, it’s just the weather…” run for high ground.
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