CS4W: When did you start writing? What drew you to the mystery/crime genre?
AC: I wrote my first stories in high school on a portable Remington typewriter my mom gave me. At the time I was a big comic book fan and collector. That led naturally to series paperbacks. John D. McDonald’s Travis McGee is perfect entry level crime reading. After reading dozens of crime novels I eventually tried my hand again, writing what I most love to read.
CS4W: Your series is based on a character named Hannibal Jones. Please share with us how you brought him to life.
AC: Hannibal grew from a very simple concept: a hardboiled detective for the 21 st Century. I wanted him to be the eternal outsider, so I made him of mixed race. That gave rise to a number of interesting conflicts. But the real surprises came when I gifted him with the basic traits that marked a hero in the 1940’s. I began to see that such traits would not always be popular today. Chivalry can look like chauvinism. Determination can appear to be stubbornness. Self-confidence can be seen as egotism. Playing with these yin/yang character traits is what really brought Hannibal to life.
CS4W: Hannibal Jones is a fascinating character. Did you know before or after his first book that you would create a series for him?
AC: From the beginning, the whole concept of a Troubleshooter character was intended to be a series. I couldn’t imagine putting this much thought into a character and his environment, just to abandon him after a single adventure.
CS4W: Your books are action-packed thrillers. What type of research do you conduct to give the murder and intrigue aspects their authenticity? What types of resources have you utilized?
AC: Research for my books arises naturally. I start out with general ideas of what I’d like to see happen, and then search the internet for the necessary background information to make the details work. Ideas often come from the news and a game of “what if” that we play at home spinning of just about any crime news. And I talk to law enforcement professionals, intelligence personnel and journalists about some of their most interesting experiences. Bits and pieces of those experiences add verisimilitude to my stories.
CS4W: Hannibal Jones travels to numerous locales, but is based primarily in Washington, D.C. Is there a specific reason you chose Washington , D.C. ?
AC: Well, the fact that I live within 10 miles of the capital certainly influenced that decision. But Washington is a perfect locale for continuing the hardboiled detective tradition. Dashiel Hammett and Raymond Chandler set their stories in San Francisco or Los Angeles at a time when the rich and poor lived physically close but worlds apart socially. Those facts naturally gave rise to conflicts. I can point to million dollar condominiums near here, within three blocks of government low-income housing. The same natural conflicts arise, and like those original detectives, Hannibal has to walk the line between those two separate worlds.
CS4W: You’ve also written a book called The Payback Assignment. This book features Morgan Stark and Felicity O’Brien. Stark is a mercenary and O’Brien is a jewel thief. This makes for an interesting combination. Can you give us a brief outline of the book and what inspired you to write their story?
AC: I wanted to do so many different things. I wanted to write thrilling action adventures of the type I read back in my series paperback days. I wanted to write military action like “The Executioner.” But I also love caper stories and wanted to learn to write them. And I wanted to write the novel equivalent of a buddy picture about characters who were complete opposites. All of those desires came together in the form of Morgan and Felicity. In this book Morgan is hired to lead a military strike team on a mission, and Felicity is paid to steal a rare piece of jewelry. Both are double crossed and when they meet they learn that they were crossed by the same man. They become partners in the process of working together to get revenge. Oh, and did I mention that they share a psychic link?
CS4W: Do you plan to create a series for Stark and O’Brien as well?
AC: I’m close to completing the sequel to The Payback Assignment, called The Orion Assignment. Much of that book takes place in Felicity’s native Ireland and we learn a good deal about her background. Part of the fun ride is that our heroes are still learning about each other. The reader will learn right along with them.
CS4W: How long does it take for you to complete a novel on average? Do you have a writing routine that you adhere to?
AC: I seem to have fallen into a pattern. It takes me just about a year to produce a novel, from idea through two versions of an outline, a draft and usually 2 or 3 complete rewrites. Most days I write for most of an hour at lunch time. I also tend to put in an hour or two each day of the weekend. The important thing is to write every day, and always leave off at a hanging point so I don’t have to wonder what I wanted to do next.
CS4W: Regarding the mystery/crime genre, is there anything you would like to share with our readers that they should avoid and/or incorporate into their own writing?
AC: I think the most important thing to remember when writing crime fiction is that character is more important than anything else. Mysteries are all about human motivation. Why do people kill? Why do people lie? Why does a particular individual not want to go to the police for help? You really have to understand your people to make these stories work, because we have the smartest readers in the world. Crime writers should also avoid giving in to their own impatience. Our readers like to be kept in suspense, and you need to give them a fair chance to figure things out for themselves. You have to play fair, give them enough clues to find the answers, and time to put it all together.
CS4W: Damaged Goods, which is the latest in the Hannibal Jones series, was released in December of 2005. Although you’re busy with signings, interviews and promotion, are you working on your next novel? If so, can you give us a sneak peek as to what the new novel will be about?
AC: I am always working on the next novel, because these people I’ve created in my mind won’t leave me alone unless I get their lives moving again. I am still in the concept stage, though so I can’t tell you much. I CAN say that I am toying with the idea of Hannibal being hired by a Russian mobster to prove he didn’t kill a particular crime figure. And one other thing. I try to alternate Hannibal’s cases between character driven drama (The Troubleshooter, Damaged Goods) and complex, twisted corkscrew mysteries (Blood and Bone, Collateral Damage.) This next book will be the latter, a really complicated, clue-laden murder mystery. Also, it will pick up on the life changing personal events that took place in Damaged Goods, so be sure you read that one before the next book is released.
Austin S. Camacho was born in New York City but grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York. He majored in psychology at Union College in Schenectady, New York. There he read a number of good books, learned to tell good beer from bad, and became a brother in the Alpha Delpha Phi fraternity. Actually, the frat was largely responsible for the books and the beer.
Dwindling finances and escalating costs brought his college days to an end after three years. Then came the factory work, the five years selling insurance, and finally, the Army. He enlisted as a weapons repairman but soon moved into a more appropriate field. The Army trained him to be a broadcast journalist. Disc jockey time alternated with news writing, video camera and editing work public affairs assignments and news anchor duties.
During his thirteen years as a soldier, Austin lived in Missouri, California, Maryland, Georgia and Belgium. He also spent a couple of exciting weeks in Israel during Desert Storm, covering the action with the Patriot missile crews and capturing scud showers on video tape. While enlisted he finished his Bachelor's Degree at night and started his Master's, and rose to the rank of Sergeant First Class. And in his spare moments, he began writing adventure and mystery novels set in some of the exotic places he'd visited.
After leaving the Army in 1996 he continued writing military news for the Defense Department as a civilian, frequently serving as on air anchor for the American Forces Information Service. Today he does public affairs work for the DoD agency charged with guarding the health of service members when they are deployed. He has settled in northern Virginia with his wife Denise.
When he's not writing Austin likes to run along the shores of the Potomac, watch action films, and shoot - at paper targets, not live ones. He is a voracious reader of just about any kind of nonfiction, plus mysteries, adventures and thrillers.
Austin's books are available in bookstores, at the following links on amazon.com, or if you would like an autographed copy, please visit his web site, http://www.ascamacho.com .
