The Wrong Kind by Austin S. Camacho

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Welcome to It's Raining Books! Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

First, I am a lifelong mystery fan. I love solving the puzzles, but I’ve learned it’s even more fun to build the puzzles, drop the clues and challenge readers to figure it out. Beyond that, mysteries are about human motivations and I enjoy exploring those motives.

What research is required?

Much of my research is to establish the location of events. I need to set my stories in a solid, three dimensional world. Beyond that I research murder methods (I’ve come frighteningly familiar with firearms and poisons) and police operations so I can represent them correctly. Mystery readers are very knowledgeable in those areas and they will let you know if you get it wrong.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

I've learned that solving a mystery is a metaphor for life. In both cases you can’t wait for perfect conditions. You have to start where you are, use what you've got, and do what you can.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

It’s almost impossible for me to create without music playing, and I do best with a random mix of performers and genres. I do my best with lots of classic rock mixed with R&B, dance and the occasional classical piece thrown in.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I am absolutely a plotter. A typical outline for a novel is ten or 12 pages, the entire series of events. I have to know where I’m going before I begin. Then I can write a scene and just move to the next one. Of course, things change as characters develop, so the outline can be seen as a living document.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

On my desk: a big mug of coffee, a large cylinder full of pens and another of pencils. In the corner sits a chair that nobody ever sits on. On that wall, a display sword on a plaque (a gift from my lovely wife Dee) and a framed print honoring soldiers lost in Desert Storm from an original painting by a past love.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

My next novel is an action thriller called The Hetman Contract, featuring a new character, a African-American female assassin named Skye.

Do you have a question for our readers?

You can’t judge a book by its cover, and you don’t really know how good a book is until you’ve read it. So, what is it that makes you decide to pick up a novel and read it? What’s the most important factor?

A distraught woman hires private investigator Hannibal Jones to track down her daughter who has run away, trying to escape the homeless shelter life her mother has come to accept. When Hannibal finds Connie Blanco she is entwined in a gang war and somehow connected to a murder. The corpse is barely cold before a second murder follows and Hannibal finds himself entangled in a complex plot revolving around stolen drugs…but who is the mastermind of this twisted scheme?

Read an Excerpt

Hannibal stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. A quick scan showed Sands to be a good housekeeper for a bachelor. There was a place for everything. The blinds were set to let the maximum amount of sunlight into the front room. Small knickknacks and figurines stood on display on bookcases and the end tables bracketing the leather sofa. A scattering of tiny roses made the wallpaper seem feminine, but the framed paintings of Civil War combat scenes counterbalanced that. The neatness was almost jarring under the circumstances. The only thing out of place in the front room was Quentin himself. He lay spread eagled on the hardwood floor. And with no carpet to absorb liquid, the pool of blood beneath him had spread quite a distance.

Lying face up, Quentin looked more startled than pained. Hannibal stepped as close to the body as he could without touching the blood pool. There was no need to check for a pulse. The pencil-sized hole just above his left eyebrow was pretty definitive. Hannibal knew the picture would not be nearly as neat on the other side, and he had no desire to see it. Powder burns and stippling on the man’s forehead told Hannibal that this shooting was done up close. Despite Quentin’s final facial expression, he had to have seen it coming.

So, what was your crime, Hannibal silently asked the corpse. Did you get too close to Connie for some other man’s comfort?

About the Author:

Austin S. Camacho is the author of seven novels about Washington DC-based private eye Hannibal Jones, five in the Stark and O’Brien international adventure-thriller series, and the detective novel, Beyond Blue. His short stories have been featured in several anthologies including Dying in a Winter Wonderland – an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Top Ten Bestseller for 2008. He is featured in the Edgar nominated African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey. Camacho is also editorial director for Intrigue Publishing, a Maryland small press.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/austin.camacho.author/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Kind-Hannibal-Jones-Mystery/dp/1940758971/

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