On Serious Series Writing

There's no need to stand alone--or really any cause to.

Don't kid yourself into thinking that all great books are standalone titles or that you're somehow selling out if you roll your dice on a series of books. Homer's Iliad had a sequel even better than the first. Aeschylus and Sophocles wrote dramatic cycles. Dante's Divine Comedy was a three-part series.

Think of the great series work done in our own time--and almost in every genre: from Frank Herbert to Sarah Paretsky to Michael Connelly to Cale Carr to Stephen King to J.K. Rowling...

Now, it's true that most Serious Literary Fiction does consist of standalones. Though they're harder to sell nowadays, books by writers with good pedigrees and even better contacts do make it through the gauntlet, are well-reviewed, and even score. Occasionally, there are breakaway successes like Donna Tartt's The Secret History.

What are the odds, though, against that when you're trying to pay the rent?

Let's stick to genre fiction and use our common sense.

The agent or editor we approach--as either an unpublished or ruined once-midlist writer--may be on fire about our book. In fact, they may even consider it a masterpiece. But will they able to sell it if they can't convince an editor who must convince Accounting that we're a sound long-term investment? In other words, can they be sure that lightning will strike twice...then thrice...then onward for years to come? They may believe you're a warhorse, able to turn out a novel a year. But readers, they say, are looking for more helpings of a dish they loved...not a completely new kettle of fish. Your unique book starring an Aborigine dwarf detective drove readers wild. But will they buy your next book about chess in ancient Babylon?

It's said that mystery readers are looking to see a real body of work before they'll a new author. They like to see five series entries, with the next on the horizon. Three or four will also work, as long as the blurb and cover are enticing.

I'd written two series of books before going seriously series: four Boss MacTavin mysteries and The Fast and the Furies, a series of theme-related thrillers. I decided to make a clean break while applying everything I'd learned. A new series, Seatle BOP, would be younger and lighter and freer, done in a much lighter style. Still writing from the heart, I bore a wise saying in mind:

Sell them what they want but give them what they need. 

Amazon.com/Bopper-Rises-Seattle-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B07THCN8VQ



Better yet, it seemed to me, learn to create the need. In a field of hulking Jack Reacher clones and even deadlier femmes, I'd set a hero measuring only 5'4". And no assassin or P.I., he's an insurance investigator. My goal: to create a need for a stylish new brand of excitement.

Thoughts for series-minded writers:
1) Decide at the start where you'll take your stand on the series spectrum, somewhere between thee two extremes: The lighter Sue Grafton/Robert B Paker model, where the series star hardly ages or changes between books...or the Micheal Connelly model with the opposite approach--the changes in Bosch are extreme. I pitched my own camp on the left with SG and RBP.
2) Though the writing's never easy--or at least it shouldn't be--you don't need to reinvent the wheel with every book. You know your setting and main characters, their histories and their quirks. And so you'll experience surges in energy and confidence that bring a new joy to your writing. entry
3) If you don't sell the first entry right off the bat, your appeal will be enhanced--along with your bargaining position--when you've completed two or three. 
4) Plus, you'll be so far ahead of the publishing timeline, that you can work without breaking a sweat.


 
For further reading, check this out:
https://nybookeditors.com/2016/11/plan-book-series/

All right, kiddos, now play ball!

Serial Thrillin': The Bitchinest Ripsnorting Round Table Joust: 1

Five knights. One theme, of interest to writers and readers alike: the rewards and challenges of a writing a mystery series...and succeeding at giving it legs. The five knights, in alphabetical order:

Carolyn Arnold
International bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series and has written nearly thirty books: from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.

Claude Bouchard

USA Today Bestselling author of the fourteen volume Vigilante Series as well as Nasty in Nice, ASYLUM and Something's Cooking. Other interests include reading, playing guitar, painting, cooking, traveling and trying to stay in reasonable shape.

Joe Clifford
He is the author of several books, including Junkie Love, Lamentation, December Boys and Give Up the Dead, as well as editor of Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Stories Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen. He lives in Oakland, CA.

Bill Kirton
University lecturer, TV presenter, wood carver, playwright, actor, director, RLF Writing Fellow, novelist. Crap at marketing or promotional work and possibly the laziest knight at the table (so says he). 

Brad Strickland
Author of 80 published books, including the ones he writes under the pen name of Ken McKea. These follow Florida detective Jim Dallas, who despite being retired on disability somehow can’t help running across murders. Brad lives in Georgia with his wife Barbara and a small assortment of varmints.

1) Why write a mystery series instead of a series of mysteries? 

Is commerce the main factor or is some other payoff at play?

ARNOLD

I love being able to torture my characters over a longer stretch of time. And I don’t like saying goodbye to them. By writing a series, at least I know when I’m wrapping up a book, I’ll be with them again soon. I also believe readers love to get attached to characters and when you’re providing them with a series, they can do so knowing there will be more books coming.

BOUCHARD
From the time I started reading and then going forward, series have always been attractive, in large part due to growing familiarity of the main characters – think ‘Cat in the Hat’, ‘Bobbsey Twins’, ‘Hardy Boys’ and ‘Tom Swift’ before even getting to adult fiction. The same holds true with writing where one can develop and build one’s principal protagonists from one adventure to the next as compared to creating new, unknown characters with each new novel. Increased comfort exists when working with ‘people’ one already knows. The commerce factor obviously comes into play as many readers also enjoy said comfort and familiarity.

CLIFFORD
Like with any venture, there are pros and cons. The biggest “pro” is, if a series takes off, you have a built-in readership. Also in the plus column, a series allows you to examine a character and world a little deeper. Think Star Wars vs., say, well, any one-off sci-fi film. Most of all publishers love a series. Less risk, established commodity, etc. The downside is:  if you don't have a series as popular as Lee Child, the average series writer often sees a dip in sales with each book and finds the critical response to be harsher, despite each book getting "better." At least that has been my experience.

KIRTON
I suspect that a mystery series is the better bet. If you can create one or more characters that intrigue the reader, characters they’d like to spend time with, that’s more likely to draw them into buying more of the books in which they appear. I suppose that’s why I call my series The Jack Carston Mysteries.

On the other hand, if you find a stand-alone mystery to be gripping, you instinctively trust the author to deliver again on suspense, thrills, horror, whatever.

STRICKLAND

A series allows a deeper exploration of the characters’ personality—strengths, flaws, problems, solutions. I like the notion of a broad canvas that gives a kind of epic sweep. In the case of Jim Dallas, Jim has issues to deal with and resolve. Through all the stories arcs the tale of his smoldering anger and bottled-up desire for vengeance, which will eventually pay off.  I’m approaching a kind of midpoint which will begin the overall climax of the series.

So in a sense, a series is simply a group of oversized chapters in a longer story. There is, of course, also the consideration that a writer can invite readers to climb aboard for the whole journey—so a series tends to build readership. Have to say that commercial concerns aren’t the greatest with me, though they do factor in. From the get-go, I’ve had a definite goal in mind for the Jim Dallas stories.


2) For perspective,  give us a few names of your favorite 

mystery series writers.

ARNOLD

I loved David Baldacci’s Camel Club series, and have also enjoyed some of the books in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series.

BOUCHARD

Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, Jonathan Kellerman… Oh, you said a couple of names… Sorry. Anyhow, this is just a handful of writers who have consistently produced well developed, intricate storylines with strong, believable, three-dimensional characters. I never read a book by any of these authors which left me disappointed. I could mention that Child may have pushed it a bit on occasion but, then again, we are talking Jack Reacher.

CLIFFORD
I like what Lehane (more on him later), Sara J. Henry, Allen Eskens, and Matt Coyle are doing with their respective series. Of course there’s the granddaddy of them all: Phillip Marlowe.

KIRTON
Dalziel and Pascoe, created by the late Reg Hill, are great examples of powerful characterization and the dynamic created by a close friendship between different personalities. (Humour also helps a lot.) 

I’m not sure whether Janet Evanovitch’s Stephanie Plum novels qualify as mysteries, but the characters are so memorable and so funny (especially Grandma Mazur) that I need a regular 
therapeutic dose of them.

STRICKLAND
Jim Dallas owes a clear debt to Travis McGee and his creator, John D. Macdonald. I like the narrative voice in these—McGee is a principled, if “tarnished” hero (MacDonald’s own word) who teeters between wishing to resign from the over-complicated modern world with a drive to become involved with the victims of it. Similarly, Dallas pulled out of everything to lick his wounds (physical and psychological) after a traumatic encounter with organized evil, but he finds that campaigning for justice among the helpless cast-aside members of society helps him heal, and gets him ready for the challenge he knows is coming.

Another MacDonald, Ross MacDonald, is another inspiration. He took the tough-guy private-eye story to literary heights with his Lew Archer novels. I like his way with words and also his gift at plotting, which is not always on high display in this kind of story—for all his accomplishment, Raymond Chandler famously plotted by “having a guy come through the door with a gun” when things got slow. I don’t think there’s a finer, more jewel-like plot in private-eye fiction than in Ross MacDonald’s brilliant The Chill.

Both of these gentlemen give us a wry, world-weary, but game character who gives a problem his all—something I try to emulate.

3) Now to you...What is the most distinctive thing about your 

mystery series?

ARNOLD

I offer readers a strong female protagonist detective, a male rookie FBI agent, and a married, murder-solving duo. In every book I strive for procedural accuracy, and as a result have been praised by law enforcement. This has led me to take on the brand line POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.™

BOUCHARD

Likely the most distinctive thing about my mystery series is all my main characters are Canadian yet none of them say, “Eh,” at least not when I’m around. Also, the members of the ‘Discreet Activities’ team are all well educated with respectable, professional backgrounds as well as smart, witty and highly sociable yet they kill for a living.

CLIFFORD
That they work both as standalones and part of an overarching storyline. Also I am hoping to shine a light on the grave injustice perpetuated against my father, namely that the Manafort family (yes, those Manaforts) and their greedy, gross misconduct directly led to my father’s premature death.

KIRTON
Hard to say. Humor's essential, even (or maybe especially) in the more gruesome cases, and I like the idea that people don’t automatically divide into goodies and baddies. My detective has no particular vices. He’s happily married to a wife who matches him for wisecracks, and yet constantly finds himself thinking politically incorrect things and chastising himself for it. I also end each book with a little scene designed to say ‘OK, reader. The mystery was solved and everything’s back in place – except that’s not the way the world works – different bad things keep on happening.

STRICKLAND
I think it might be the blend of humor and detail. I get letters about how real the background is—“I ate in that restaurant!” “I know exactly where that river is!” and so on. Having Sam Lyons as a foil character gives me a chance for a lot of repartee and shaggy-dog jokes, which I love. But capturing something of the Florida milieu (changed even from the days of Travis McGee) also gives the stories a kind of flavor. Still to come are a story that takes place, partly, at a theme park (I have relatives who worked for two of the biggest ones) and one that will feature intrigue at a posh Miami hotel, secretly falling on hard times but keeping up a front. I think the details in these will ring true. I have my informants. . . . 


But the truth of the background is meant to reinforce the psychological truth of the characters.

4) Can your books be read as stand-alones or should/must

they be read in sequence?

ARNOLD

They can be read as stand-alones.

BOUCHARD

Each of the thirteen installments of my Vigilante series to date is a complete story and can therefore be read as a standalone. However, as with most series, reading them in sequence allows for a better flow in terms of character introduction and development. In addition, past events are occasionally referenced or directly related to the plotlines of later installments which also supports sequential reading as the best option.

CLIFFORD
As stated above, both, although obviously reading in order is preferable. You simply get more.

KIRTON
Mine are conceived as stand-alones, but in the knowledge that I have a group of people I know quite well and whom I trust to be themselves.

On the other hand, my two historical mysteries are only a pair because readers asked for a sequel to the first one in order to know how a particular relationship developed. I still think each is self-contained but reading them in sequence would add to the pleasure. (Some readers have now asked for a third, so it may become a series after all.)

STRICKLAND
I have no trouble writing them so they’re stand-alones, though I think they may make more emotional sense if read as part of an extended story. That’s when you begin to make the connections and to see the character development.

5) As a series writer, how do you handle back story from book 

to book—scatter shot or concentrated loads? How do you 

contrive to give just enough details for anchors?

ARNOLD

I’m definitely more a “scatter shot” when it comes to backstory. I provide just enough—and what’s needed—for the current story I’m telling. Obviously if a tidbit about a character’s history is irrelevant to the current plot line, I leave it out.

BOUCHARD
Concentrated loads were used in earlier books with a gradual transition to scatter shots as required as the series progressed. With the fourteenth installment in the works, it becomes somewhat repetitive and redundant to present readers with too much detail relating to ancient history. Sufficient albeit brief data is supplied to new readers in later books to identify characters with the assumption (and hope) that curiosity will lead them to read past installments they’ve missed. As an example from my current WIP, the reader learns of Chris Barry’s financial success years earlier from a line or two of simple dialogue.

CLIFFORD
This is the challenge with each book, and I’ve tackled this task in different ways. You want to avoid the dreaded “auto-dump.” In the latest Jay Porter novel, BROKEN GROUND, for instance, we begin at an AA meeting with Jay speaking, which allowed me to get in a lot of the back-story organically.

KIRTON
I leave it to the characters – which sounds, but isn’t, glib. Each member of Jack Carston’s team has distinct characteristics. Their idiosyncrasies provide the familiarity and continuity to suggest a well-established team who are used to and respond to one another’s behaviours. They are the back story.

STRICKLAND
I leak a little at a time. In the current one, the one I’m writing, we’re going to find out a bit more about the rough ride that Jim had when he worked for Internal Affairs back during his police days. He hasn’t talked much about that—but let’s say that his involvement may have made him say and do a few things that he deeply regrets, that go against his character. More of this will come out as the books go on. In the end, I think a reader can jigsaw together a valid portrait of him that will seem true to life.

6) The age thing. Hell, let’s hit it. Does your hero age/change 

very little over the course of the series (Hercule Poirot, Kinsey 

Malone, James Bond, Spenser)...or age and change 

progressively (Harry Bosch)?

ARNOLD

There’s definite growth to the characters in all my series. Detective Madison Knight started off really rough around the edges. She’s still a hard-nosed detective who will do whatever it takes to find justice for murder victims, but she’s softened on a personal level. She used to be terrified of committing herself to a romantic relationship, but that’s a thing of the past. I think I might even hear wedding bells in her future. But that’s still a few more books out from—if it does happen.

Brandon Fisher started out as a new agent with the FBI in book one. As readers progress in the series, they are taken along the journey of him becoming a full-fledged agent with the BAU.

The McKinleys went from being homicide detectives for Albany PD to amateur sleuths to private investigators. That involved a lot of growth.

BOUCHARD

Chapter headings in each of my books include actual dates to establish a timeline. Book 1 was written in 1995 and set in 1996 while my last release took place in 2016, twenty years later so, yes, my characters have aged. Luckily, they were young enough at the start and I make damned sure they stay in shape from one story to the next.

CLIFFORD
Each book in the Porter series is a year later, which brings us up to the current year

KIRTON
Interesting question because the next Carston story will be the last. Without me trying to impose ageing on him, he’s been changed by the experiences of the crimes he’s solved and the individuals he’s met in the process. I’ve no idea what he’ll do in retirement, but his tendency to try to make light of things and just enjoy life has been severely eroded by the ongoing evidence of man’s inhumanity to man (and especially woman).

STRICKLAND
Heh. Ellery Queen was always 35, until somewhere between books he had a growth spurt and wound up being 57. Jim is aging—the stories are set along a time line of five or six years, and he’ll reflect that in the stories.

                                                              *****

Take seven, as in seven days, to stretch and think about Part 1. Next week we'll return with the provocative conclusion. Among other things you'll learn--but no, mustn't ruin the surprise. You'll also meet a surprise guest. Arrive early for guaranteed seating.

                                                         *****

To learn more about these authors and their books, click on the

following links:

Carolyn Arnold

Website:  carolynarnold.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolyn.arnold.564

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Carolyn_Arnold

New title releasing November 28: http://carol0ynarnold.net/power-struggle/

Claude Bouchard

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Claude-Bouchard/e/B002BLL3RK

Website: http://www.claudebouchardbooks.com

Vigilante Series Box set - Books 1 to 6: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EPE926Y

Joe Clifford
Website: http://www.joeclifford.com

Bill Kirton
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2xz2wSN
Website: hhtp://www.billkirton.com
Book to introduce readers to my work: The Darkness (see answer 11 in Part 2)
http://amzn.to/2gtWVqX

Brad Strickland
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Ken-McKea/e/B00J22N6PS/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1508850962&sr=1-2-ent

Claude Bouchard Unchained 2

RM: Good morning, Claude. It's been two years since we did that interview – Claude Bouchard Unchained – and I hope this time around we have as much fun. 

CB: We had fun the first time around? Oh… Right. Yeah, uh, we had a blast. (Nodding and smiling to hide my confusion and bewilderment.) Seriously, I much enjoyed our previous interview and I’m pleased that you invited me to do another.

RM: We've decided to try something different this time: focusing on one standalone book, ASYLUM, that's wildly divided your readers. Could you begin by telling us a bit about the book – avoiding any spoilers – and the range of readers' reactions? 

CB: For the sake of accuracy, expediency and spoiler avoidance, I’m copy/pasting the actual book description below:

As Managing Director of the Montreal Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Doctor Matthew Russell has always put his professional responsibilities ahead of all else. That is, until he one day realizes that he is losing his wife, Cassidy, and his two children, Stuart and Jennifer. With only his family in mind, Russell takes an adventure-filled, impromptu vacation of indefinite duration, leaving all else behind and stopping at nothing to show how much he cares for his loved ones in an effort to win them back. But, will he succeed… Or, will it prove to be all too late in the end? 

As for the range of readers’ reactions, of 56 reviews received on Amazon.com, 21 are 5 star, 18 are 1 star and the remaining 17 are scattered in between for a 3.2 star overall average – not quite a perfect bell curve, but close. Comments ranged from “Brilliant” to “uugghh”. :)

RM: This sounds like a classic case of seeing what we expect. Some fans of the Vigilante series went into Asylum expecting more of the same, only more so? That's ironic, to say the least – because Asylum's as heavy on action as any of the Vigilante books. Help me stretch my memory here. The hero stages several daring rescues – including one in a fire, one in a pilot-less air balloon and one in the Grand Canyon. He also battles muggers, carjackers, thieves and even a rattlesnake. Hard to imagine anyone expecting more from a thriller. But there is a difference, isn't there? Can you tell us – without any spoilers? 

CB: Thrillers involving daring rescues and victorious battles against violent criminals and deadly wildlife often, though not always, have a protagonist who is somehow trained or experienced in dealing with such situations or adversaries. Think Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne and countless others. Rarely is the hero a middle-aged, psychiatrist bureaucrat, even if he’s in decent physical shape. Perhaps, due to his position, Dr. Russell had received training over the years in dealing with crises and dangerous individuals, though this is not described in the book… Or maybe it’s something else. 

RM: One of the recurring charges against the book was its reading like a 'travelogue'. The hero and his family do cover a lot of ground: starting their vacation in Vancouver, proceeding down along the Western coast of the U.S... driving on to Florida... and flying on to Rio. That's a terrific vacation. But once again irony rears its devilish head. Your third-person descriptions of the travels do read as if they came from travel books. But, based on my second reading, I'm certain the descriptions were deliberately done this way. Am I right about this? 

CB: You are right about that, though, as some reviews made clear, not everyone liked it. The objective, which proved to be successful with some readers and obviously not with others, was to present a picture-perfect family vacation, even though it was temporarily marred on occasion by mishaps and conflicts. Put another way, if Asylum was a film, the vacation sequences would seem almost Disneyesque in nature.

RM: One other thing. Vigilante fans with blinders on may have been fooled by the pacing. You took your time getting us to the action-packed vacation. Anyone who's read your best-selling series knows that you know how to hit the ground running, action from the get-go. You seem to have felt the importance, this time, of building slowly, piece by piece. 

CB: An appropriate introduction of Dr. Russell’s life and problems was required before we could think of jumping into the action-packed vacation. This is what Part I of the book was, spanning over six chapters which represented under 14% of the entire novel. Hardly a huge block of reading to get through before the pace quickened and quite necessary to establish the events leading to Russell’s subsequent life-changing decisions and actions.

RM: You must have known going in that readers would regard the book as a real departure. What prompted you to take the chance, along with the risks it involved? Did you anticipate the blowback Asylum received from some quarters? 

CB: I’ll begin by sharing the Author’s Note which I included at the beginning of the book from the get-go:

For those of you who have already read some of my work, I wanted to let you know that ASYLUM is not a crime thriller. In fact, I had a hard time determining what genre I should consider it to be. Following much mulling and category searching, I hesitantly settled on “psychological thriller” though there were other possibilities. ASYLUM has aspects of action and adventure as well as of love, family and emotion. It deals with the struggles which many have had to deal with when attempting to balance professional and personal responsibilities. It reflects the turmoil one may be faced with when too much emphasis is placed on the workplace to the detriment of one’s family. ASYLUM is different from anything I had written to date but I enjoyed writing it and I’m pleased with the final result. I hope you will be too.

So, yes, I was aware the book was a real departure but what prompts any writer to tell a story? I don’t have to research very far to confirm that I wasn’t the first author to ever step away from my usual genre because I had something else I wanted to work on. As to anticipating the blowback Asylum received from some, one never knows how something will be received and should realize that it’s impossible to please everyone. Of my ten novels out to date, seven have at least one 1 star review. Ratings for my nine Vigilante thrillers range from 4.1 to 4.8. Such is life. In all fairness, when I consider Asylum and its 56 reviews, 29 are 4 or 5 stars which means more than half of the reviewers gave it an 80%+ rating.

 RM: I've avoided the next question in all of my interviews so far. But this time the question really asks itself: Could you tell us a little about the writing of Asylum? Did it take less or more time to write than the average Vigilante book? Did you write it in longhand, using my beloved #2 pencils? (How the hell'd you get my pencils?) Did you breakdance between drafts? That sort of thing, please. 

CB: There was nothing markedly different with writing Asylum versus my works in the Vigilante series. It was the usual ‘develop as I write and research’ I always do. A manuscript can take me anywhere from two to ten months to write and Asylum was done in seven so, it was right in there with the average. I’m confused with part of your question when you mention longhand and pencils. What are those things? Seriously, my use of longhand is reserved almost exclusively for grocery lists which are always composed using a ball point pen. Lastly, I’ve long given up breakdancing, having progressed to more emotion inspiring genres such as krumping, popping, turfing, locking and the occasional dunno move when it’s the least expected. However, I never ever polka.

RM: We've talked about readers and what they expect. Writers may not have the right to expect anything from readers. But surely we're allowed to hope. What are your hopes for the diehard Vigilante fans approaching this standalone title? 

CB: I’ll respond to that with a personal example from my reading past. I became a Baldacci from his first release, Absolute Power, back in 1996. His four novels which followed, though all standalones, were also all pure Baldacci suspense thrillers. Then came his sixth release in 2000, entitled Wish You Well. Murder, power, schemes and conspiracy from previous books were replaced with a 1940 story about two kids moving from New York City to go live in the mountains of Virginia on their great-grandmother’s farm. Was it what I expected from Baldacci? Far from it. However, having recognized the man’s impressive writing talent, I was more than willing to read his latest tale and to do so with an open mind, knowing this would not be his usual fare. I didn’t regret my decision. More succinctly, I would hope that diehard Vigilante fans would approach Asylum with a similar open mind – some have and others not – oh well.

RM: Asylum, for my money, delivers at least as much bang for our bucks as any of your other books. But it also delivers a few other kicks that are all its own. What can you tell any reader who may still be on the fence – about what they'll get from this baby that they won't find anywhere else? 

CB: I thought long and hard about this one and even bounced it off a friend who had just recently reread the book. In the end, the feedback he gave me made me realize that some reviewers who had really ‘got’ the book had already answered the question for me. Here are some excerpts of what they had to say: “I knew that there was something more to the story of Dr. Matthew Russell and his family...something that was just beyond my reach, something that I knew was there – ready to pounce – but I just could not put my finger on it.” "You get the feeling that something's off, almost like there are hints laying around, but it’s not something you can put your finger on..." "I examined Asylum every-which-way because I love mysteries despite nothing indicating Asylum is a mystery. But there were clues." "If you like an action packed book, then this book is for you. However, it operates on different levels according to the reader."

RM: Thanks for your time, Claude. And thanks for taking the chance on this book. I promised you ten questions – so please add a last of your own. 

CB: Thank you for inviting me for a second round, Reb. As for taking a chance with Asylum, I had a story to tell so I did. Considering there are almost 17K copies out there to date, I really can’t deem it a failure. And now for a question of my own. I wanted to come up with something different which had never been asked in any interview I’ve done, something deep and revealing which would give readers some personal insight about who I am and what makes me tick so, here it goes: Question: What are your five favourite cheeses? Answer: In no particular order, aged cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and feta… Damn, I wish I had asked for ten…