This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Frank Zafiro will be awarding Winner #1 a box set of River City series 1-3 (Kindle version) AND Winner #2 a surprise package of out-of-print versions of Zafiro titles (paperbacks) - US Only. International readers may substitute digital version of any title in the author's back catalog to two randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Welcome to It's Raining Books. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?
When I really started writing in earnest after a lifetime of starts and stops, I was ten years into my policing career. So it was no surprise that crime fiction is most of what spilled out. But what continues to draw me to the genre is that, much like science fiction, crime fiction is a wonderful genre to explore some of life and society’s biggest, thorniest questions.
What research is required?
Fortunately, my twenty-plus years in the law enforcement field whittles down the number of things I need to research. Or did, at least. I’ve been retired since 2013, so there have been changes. As my River City series catches up to modern day (The Worst Kind of Truth is set in 2008), I expect to have plenty of questions about “how is this done now?”
Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.
Officer (now Detective) Katie MacLeod is the core of this series. Writing her so intimately over all these books has taught me that while there are differences between the genders, much of the human experience is universal. That’s a lesson I shouldn’t have to learn, I know, and maybe I didn’t learn it so much as have the understanding driven home, but no matter how it happened, it’s a valuable perspective to hang onto, since it has a much wider application.
Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?
One odd quirk might be a naming convention I use… a lot of my secondary characters (and a few main ones) are named after either hockey players or people I served with in the Army. Some are mixed and matched, of course, but anyone who is a hockey fan (especially a Flyers fan) or served with me from 1986-91 will be grinning at some of the names they come across.
Are you a plotter or pantser?
Used to be a pantser. Now I’m a plotter, though I’d say my plotting mainly consists of bullet points with scenes and notes. The transition from the first to the second was mandated when I co-authored a number of books (fifteen of my forty or so novels). You can’t (or, at least, shouldn’t) pants it when you’re writing with another author. You need a road map. I guess along the way of improving that outlining process with other writers, I found that it had value for my solo work.
Look to your right – what’s sitting there?
Looking past the trash can, there’s a framed picture of Springsteen on the wall, right next to a painting my Nanu did about twenty years ago. Also, my dog Richie (and sometimes my cat, Pasta) are lounging on the floor behind me. Richie is entirely comfortable in his role as writer dog. Pasta is pretending he’s only there because he wants to be, not because he wants to hang with us.
Anything new coming up from you? What?
For hard boiled fans, my fourth SpoCompton book, Live and Die This Way, is coming out October 11. Later this year, a new Stefan Kopriva mystery will drop (Kopriva is a spinoff series from River City). If you like a little quirky humor in your mystery, my Stanley Melvin PI Stories will start dropping this fall, beginning with the award-winning first entry, Hallmarks of the Job.
Do you have a question for our readers?
In terms of subgenre, what kind of mysteries do you like best? Why?
Detective Katie MacLeod has her hands full.
It has been four years since her promotion to detective, and after paying her dues in property crimes investigations, she has made it to the Major Crimes unit. This is where the highest profile cases land—homicides, robberies, serious assaults, and sexual assaults.
Katie catches two rape cases almost back-to-back. One victim is a prostitute with an unknown suspect… who Katie fears may be gearing up for more assaults. The other victim is a college student who has accused her boyfriend, a popular baseball player, of raping her at a party.
Both cases have their own set of perils. Katie juggles her time investigating each one, encountering many obstacles—a lack of evidence in one, and wondering how to parse conflicting statements in the other.
As she battles past these difficulties, Katie faces another fact… that both cases hit home with her in very different ways. Solving them becomes more than just a job for her, but something deep-seated and personal… something that may exorcise some of her own demons from the past.
Or will they consume her?
Read an Excerpt
“Thanks,” Nicole said.
Katie looked at her. “This wasn’t your fault, Nicole. I wish I could change that it happened to you but I can’t. But I am going to do my best to catch the man that did this to you.”
“You’ll catch him,” Nicole said.
“I’ll do my best,” Katie repeated. She knew better than to make promises to victims, no matter how tempting it was.
“You’ll catch him,” Nicole repeated. “I know it. You’ve done it before.”
Katie cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
Nicole looked at her intensely. “I know who you are. I recognized your name as soon as you came in.”
That didn’t surprise Katie. She’d been involved in a number of high-profile incidents during her career. The media coverage wasn’t always favorable, either. But Nicole’s stare didn’t have the anger or blame that came with that sort of attitude. Instead, it resonated with belief.
“This happened to my mom,” Nicole said. She looked away to pluck more tissues and wipe her eyes. “A long time ago. I was fifteen at the time.”
Katie did some quick math. That meant her mother was assaulted in 1996 or 1997. And ninety-six was the year of—
“What’s your mother’s name?” Katie asked. Her heart-rate quickened as she waited for the response. Her mind flashed back to that case, back when she was a patrol officer. She ran through the names of the victims of that man, all of them indelibly imprinted upon her memory… and then she knew what Nicole would say.
“Maureen Hite,” said Nicole, just as Katie expected. “She was attacked by him. The Rainy Day Rapist.”
“I remember,” Katie said, quietly. Images of her and Thomas Chisolm searching a parking lot on the north side flashed through her mind. Of her finding Maureen Hite huddled near the front wheel well of a Chevy Blazer. She could still see the stark blue and white stripes of the quarter-panel and the door beside the woman. Maureen’s baffled expression, lost and fearful. “How is she now?”
Nicole shook her head. “She died six years ago. Pills.”
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“She never really got over it,” Nicole said.
Katie nodded. “I don’t think it’s something you get over. It’s not a cold. You just learn to live with it.”
“Yeah, well, she didn’t really learn how. Or only for a while.”
“I’m sorry, Nicole.”
“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault. You caught him. You caught him and you killed him.” Nicole’s jaw was set and her eyes burned brightly. “I know you’ll do the same for me.”
Katie Macleod stared back at her, unable to answer.
About the Author:
Frank is the award-winning author of over three dozen novels, most of them crime fiction. These include his River City series of police procedurals, Stefan Kopriva mysteries (PI), SpoCompton series (hardboiled), Jack McCrae mysteries (PI), and Sandy Banks thrillers. He has also co-authored multiple series with other authors, including the Charlie-316 series (procedurals with Colin Conway), Bricks and Cam Jobs (action, dark comedy with Eric Beetner), and the Ania series (hardboiled with Jim Wilsky).
In addition to writing, Frank hosted the crime fiction podcast Wrong Place, Write Crime. He has written a textbook on police report writing and taught police leadership all over the US and Canada. He is an avid hockey fan and a tortured guitarist. He currently lives in the high desert of Redmond, Oregon.
Buy/pre-order The Worst Kind of Truth: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B72GF6SW
Website: http://frankzafiro.com
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an awesome book.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I feel pretty great about it. :-)
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