by Lorie Ham

Today at the Café we have with us mystery author Austin Camacho, whose latest book is Blood and Bone, published by Echelon Press. There will be a new mystery released in June of 2009. So grab a cup of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee in honor of Austin and enjoy the interview.

Café:
Tell us little bit about your book.

Austin:
An eighteen year-old boy lies dying of leukemia. Kyle's only hope is a bone marrow transplant, but no one in his wealthy Virginia family can safely supply it. His last chance lies in finding his father, a man who disappeared before he was born. Police and private investigators can find nothing on a trail eighteen years cold. Kyle's family has nowhere to turn until they learn of a professional troubleshooter named Hannibal Jones. Hannibal has two weeks to find the missing man, but his search turns up so much more: A woman who might be Kyle's illegitimate sister, the woman who could be her mother, and the chauffeur who may know the fate of Kyle's father. Hannibal follows a twisting, winding path of deception, conspiracy and greed, from Washington to Mexico, pursuing his own holy grail: the truth. But with each step closer, the danger grows.

Café:
How long have you been writing?

Austin:
Since high school (class of 1970 – you do the math. I’m too scared.)

Café:
When did your first novel come out?

Austin:
An edition of Blood and Bone was released in 1999.

Café:
Have you always written mysteries? If not, what else have you written?

Austin:
I actually wrote action thrillers first, but was not able to get any of them published until after the mysteries. I do have two thrillers in print and plan more.

Café:
What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your latest book? Tell us a little about the setting and main character.

Austin:
When I decided to write hard boiled detective fiction I looked at the examples of the greats: Ray Chandler, Dash Hammett, Ross MacDonald. Their detectives worked in San Francisco or Los Angeles and often the conflict arose because of the proximity of the wealthy and the poor. Their detectives straddled the line, moving in both worlds. I realized that Washington DC presents the same cultural and social setting – million dollar town homes within a few blocks of low income housing. It was a perfect setting in which to update the hardboiled style for the 21st century.

My detective, Hannibal Jones, is also very 21st century in some ways. He has a mixed race background and so straddles those cultural lines as well. But he is also a very conservative man, like the traditional hard boiled private eye – a little chauvinistic with a strong sense of honor and dedication to the truth. But those traits are not viewed the same way today as they were in the 1940’s and 50’s. I’m having fun with the character as he slowly evolves, dealing with issues his predecessors never had to face. So much is acceptable now that was not back then.

Café:
What is the main reason that you write?

Austin:
Because if I didn’t, I’d die. Seriously, there are stories inside me that have to get out, and people who insist their stores be told.

Café:
I can relate to that as I think most writers can. Do you write to entertain or is there something more you want the readers to take away from your work?

Austin:
I think of my writing as pure entertainment, and I think there’s a place in our lives for reading just for fun. But each time I finish a novel some joker points out a theme or a lesson that I didn’t know what there. In the process of trying to be a protector to his client, trying to be a good man to his woman, trying to mentor a neighborhood teenager, Hannibal offers an example of what one man thinks a man should be. I will admit that when I was growing up, my own morale base was shaped less by the church and more by Doc Savage, Lew Archer, Travis McGee and Bruce Wayne. If a reader of my books catches a dose of “never give up” or “do the right thing even when no one is looking” I figure it can’t hurt.

Café:
So you teach lessons in spite of yourself lol. Do you have a schedule for your writing or just write whenever you can?

Austin:
I write almost every day during my lunch hour, and again in whatever moments I can on the weekend.

Café:
Do you outline? If not, do you have some other interesting way that you keep track of what’s going on, or what needs to happen in your book when you are writing it?

Austin:
I write a detailed outline that usually ends up being 4 or 5 pages, broken into scenes like a play. I also write very detailed character sketches. The characters never change, but as I write I do wander from the outline a bit. However, I always manage to find my way to the ending I had originally planned.

Café:
If you had your ideal, what time of day would you prefer to write?

Austin:
The fantasy is to get up in the morning, prepare breakfast of fruit and/or cereal and coffee, and sit on the deck and write all morning. Of course, that will be my life when I move to the Virgin Islands. LOL!

Café:
Sounds nice. Day job?

Austin:
Public affairs specialist for the Defense Department. I handle media queries and write press releases and articles for military publications.

Café:
How interesting. You must get some story ideas from that job. Did you find it difficult to get published in the beginning?

Austin:
Getting published is probably no harder than landing a starring role in a big budget movie or getting a recording contract. After pushing your work in front of every agent and publisher on the planet for several years and honing your craft the whole time, you become an overnight success. Sadly, publishers don’t even have time to read and evaluate all the submissions they get. It is uphill all the way.

Café:
Do you have a great rejection/critique or acceptance story you’d like to share?

Austin:
Sorry, too busy writing to think much about the rejections, and getting accepted is just the beginning of a new story. When I get that six-figure advance, THEN I’ll have a story for you.

Café:
What kind of promotion do you find most affective?

Austin:
I’m best face-to-face, so I do a lot of book signings and presentations to organizations like the Kiwanas and Rotary Clubs.

Café:
Most interesting book signing story-in a bookstore or other venue?

Austin:
At Wine in the Woods – a wine festival in Maryland – I signed 60+ books but the more interesting fact is that I had a wine glass issued by the festival and most everyone who came up to the table wanted me to taste the new bottle they had just found. So I signed and they poured samples into my glass. By the end of the day I’m not sure my signature was too legible.

Café:
LOL Future writing goals?

Austin:
The goal is to have a strong enough following that one day a novel will be a best-seller before anyone even buys it, just by the number they ship to stores. Maybe 10 living writers are there right now, and I want to join them.

Café:
Heroes?

Austin:
For prose – Ross MacDonald. For characters – Elmore Leonard. For story – David Morell. Otherwise, all my heroes are fictional.

Café:
Person you would most like to meet dead or alive?

Austin:
The original Hannibal (you know, African general who fought the Roman legions with elephants in his army.)

Café:
What do you read?

Austin:
Mysteries and thrillers, of course. Also books about firearms, combat, crime detection and other stuff you’d classify as research.

Café:
What are your hobbies?

Austin:
Aside from writing, I watch too much TV.

Café:
Favorite TV or movies?

Austin:
TV: Dexter, Jekyll, the Shield – Movies: The Italian Job, Chinatown, The Usual Suspects.

Café:
Pets?

Austin:
Princess the Wonder Cat.

Café:
Family?

Austin:
My lovely wife Denise and grown kids Erin, Chrystal, Adam, Phillip and Lela.

Café:
What part of the country/world do you live in?

Austin:
Northern Virginia, USA.

Café:
Any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?

Austin:
Write every day, rewrite continually, submit until they make you stop.

Café:
Anything you would like to add?

Austin:
There is great joy in the creative process, but it isn’t real until someone else reads it.

Café:
Website?

Austin:
www.ascamacho.com, but also visit me at www.myspace.com/austincamacho, read Hannibal Jones' own blog at hannibaljones.blogspot.com, and hear the Hannibal Jones podcast at hannibaljones.podhoster.com.

Café:
Wow, you are all over the internet. Where can people purchase your books?

Austin:
Any bookstore can order them, and several locally have them on the shelves. Also Amazon.com and BN.com. Oh, and the e-book on Fictionwise. And of course my website. Thanks so much for being here with us at the Café. Until next time happy reading and good coffee!

©2009 Lorie Ham. All rights reserved.