Steve Hamilton

Please welcome Steve Hamilton, author of Misery Bay, his latest thrilling offering featuring Alex McKnight!

Interview:

Ray Palen- You took a break from the Alex McKnight series to write two terrific stand-alone novels. What did you learn from that journey and how did this change your approach when returning to Alex McKnight?

Steve Hamilton- It was really just a matter of giving Alex a break (strange to say about a fictional character, I know, but it really felt that way) and also going out and doing something totally different myself. And ideally, getting better as a writer in every way before going back to the series. I didn’t plan on being away for so long, though. It was great to finally be back.

Ray Palen- MISERY BAY has a darker tone than the predecessors in the series. Is this a statement on our changing society or is the series going in a different direction from the usual P.I. genre?

Steve Hamilton- Part of coming back to the series a better writer was just trying to make it a bigger story. I wasn’t conscious of making it darker, per se. It wasn’t officially part of any plan. But on some deep level, yeah, maybe there was a reason! I’d probably have to go lay on an analyst’s couch to really get at it.

Ray Palen- Alex has been through a lot over 8 novels. What do you see next for him? Is there anything he still has to do to fulfill himself or is he content where he is?

Steve Hamilton- Now that I’m back, I really want to stick with him for at least two more books. I’m working on the next one now, and it’s sort of back to being a “Vinnie LeBlanc” book. (He didn’t have much to do in Misery Bay, after all.) There’ll be a lot about why Vinnie is the way he is. And then in the book after that, I think it’ll be time to go back into Alex’s past a little more. Go back to Detroit and pick up on a thread from his days on the police force.

Ray Palen- What inspired you to base the series in Northern Michigan? St. Sault Marie is definitely a unique landscape to house this series --- does this area draw any comparisons to other parts of the world you’ve visited?

Steve Hamilton- Well, there’s nowhere else in the world quite like the UP. That’s the first thing. It’s just a different world up there. Even Minnesota fells different to me. There’s just something about the place and the people who live there. And of course the lake. To me, it feels like it can be the loneliest place on earth, if you want it to be that way. Going back to that very first book, after what Alex had gone through, it’s the one place where he would go to get away from absolutely everything. (Of course, even in Paradise, Michigan, the trouble can still find you!)

Ray Palen- My favorite character in all the McKnight novels (next to Alex, of course) is his ex-teammate, Randy Wilkins from THE HUNTING WIND. Any thoughts of ever bringing him back? Also, have you ever actually mixed a Slinky??

Steve Hamilton- I think Randy has probably done his thing, but who knows? I never actually know where any book is going to go when I start it, so I guess I can never say never. (And yes, I did try making a Slinky, which is vodka and root beer. I would not recommend it!)

Brief Bio:

Steve Hamilton was born and raised in the Detroit area, and attended the University of Michigan, where he received the prestigious Hopwood Award. He currently lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with his wife and two children.

Steve Hamilton’s titles:

A Cold Day in Paradise, 1998
Winter of the Wolf Moon, 2000
The Hunting Wind, 2001
North of Nowhere, 2002
Blood is the Sky, 2003
Ice Run, 2004
A Stolen Season, 2006
Night Work, 2007
The Lock Artist, 2010
Misery Bay, June 2011

For more information on Steve, please visit his website:
http://www.authorstevehamilton.com/