Author Interview with Michael Draper author of Splattered Blood

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Vantage Press (January 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0533164699
• ISBN-13: 978-0533164691

Book Description from Amazon.com:

Publication Date: January 28, 2012

THE CHIEF OF INTERNAL SECURITY for New England's professional basketball team, the Highlanders, is found dead in his office, with a suicide note and conflicting evidence of foul play. Refusing to believe he would have had reason to kill himself, and frustrated with the slowness of the police force's progress on the case, Johnny's widow, Roseanne, and best friend, Randy, launch a renegade investigation of their own. Aided by Roseanne's brother Graham, a fiercely protective loose cannon, they dig up evidence that Johnny, just previous to the date of his death, was running his own undercover investigation into the drug overdose of a star player for the Highlanders. The amateur detectives find themselves mixed up with a ruthless gang of mobsters, many of whom are responsible for the drug trade-and a string of violent murders - from Washington, D.C. to Boston. When their quest takes a gruesome and deadly turn, the three wonder if they're in over their heads. A gritty tale in the vein of Dennis Lehane and Robert B. Parker, Splattered Blood keeps readers guessing,with suspense and retribution on every page.

I would like to welcome Mike Draper the author of "Splattered Blood" to my blog. Thanks Mike for agreeing to answer a few questions.

Mike can you give my readers a brief description of your new book?

Sure, Brenda.

In "Splattered Blood" a retired State Trooper gets a job as chief of internal security for a New England basketball team.

Events begin happening to the star players and when the security chief begins looking into this, he's found dead with a suicide note on his computer.

His widow goes to her friend and financial advisor and tells him she can't accept the verdict. He was happily married and had purchased $500,000 of life insurance to protect the family but was informed that the insurance wouldn't pay if death was from suicide in the first two years.

The advisor tells Roseanne, the widow, that he knows some police officers in Boston, from running the marathon and offers to help. He gets a copy of the suicide note and there are clues in the note that it was forced so the investigation turns to murder.
When the official investigation stalls, the widow, her brother who knows weapons but is a loose cannon, and the financial advisor plan their own, renegade investigation.

 How long did it take you to write "Splattered Blood?

From start to finish, almost ten years.

What inspired you to write the story?

I've been a sports fan forever and one professional basketball team has had two stars die prematurely and another arrested at the ariport trying to bring drugs into the U.S. I thought that if this could be compressed into a small time, there might be an interesting story.
I'm also in finance and this team has stockholders so I thought if a stockholder meeting was approaching, what if a rival group was trying to take over the team for some reason. They could use stockholder unrest as a reason to vote for new management and that management could control team assets and get into a market where they could provide illegal products.
Finally, I work with law enforcement personnel in financial planning. I've heard many stories of the live of many State Trooper so thought some of these stories could go into the making of a very different story.

Do you have a favorite character in the story? Why?

I think my favorite is Randy. He's like me, a financial advisor and lives the dream of going on an adventure to try to find a killer.

What type of research did you have to do for this book?

The State Trooper clients would advise me about weapons, scenarios, and attitudes of police in differednt circumstances.

An unusual part came when I put a question on the internet about entering something about computers and hacking. When I read where the person was from, it was India.

Mike, often a cover can make or break a book, how did you come up with such an eye catching cover?

My wife and I were on a convention and went to Luckenback Texas.
As we were leaving, we spotted these vultures on a dead tree and thought it would make for a good cover for my book. My wife took the photo.

Are you planning on bringing any of these characters back in another book?

The same characters get together to solve another crime.

What are you working on right now?

The second novel where baseball goes on strike and a person in a chat group doesn't think it's fair and decides to murder the highest paid player on each team.

What is your favorite genre to read, and what are you reading right now?

Mystery and thrillers.

Currently reading "Hard Knocks' by Howie Carr

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Brenda, I could go on and on but those who come to mind are:

James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly, John Connolly, Don Winslow, Lisa Gardner and Joe Lansdale.

Are there any stories you could share about the process of writing "Splattered Blood?"

In the process of writing "Splattered Blood" I've attended a number of writer's conferences. One that I've attended for years is The New England Crime Bake. A few years ago, I went into a mentoring program where an established author would look at part of my manuscript and critique it.

Since my novel is a thriller, I was lucky enough to have "New York Times" bestselling author, Lisa Gardner as my mentor.

Lisa informed me that she liked my story but that I should change the first few pages, because they were written in good English and since a new widow is calling Randy, that's not how a widow would talk.

Put in pauses and incomplete sentences to make it more real.

Lisa also was kind enough to see a number of drafts that I did to change things around until she felt I had it right and could go with it.

What a kind thing to do. I hope I can repay the favor to a new author some day.

Mike, what else do you want your readers to know? Consider your likes and dislikes, your interests and hobbies, whatever comes to mind.

I'm a book collector, book reviewer and avid runner. I'm getting up there in years but still run a couple of 5k road races nearly every month.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book? 

On Amazon, Barnes and Noble,and the book store in my home town, Guilford, Ct, which is Breakwater Books. (That bookstore has many signed copies)

About the Author:

Michael A. Draper holds a master's degree in teaching from Saint Michael's College in Vermont. He spent four years in the Air Force, achieving the rank of captain. Currently in the field of life insurance and retirment planning, Mr. Draper found a great deal of inspiration for this novel while working with law enforcement personnel.

Be sure and check out Mike's blog  @http://mikedraperinguilford.blogspot.com/

Also check out the Facebook page for "Splattered Blood" by clicking here.

You can also follow Mike on twitter by clicking here.

Thanks so much Mike for dropping by my blog. I must say Mike's book is a fast paced murder mystery that is hard to put down, check back on Jan. 6th to read my review of the book.