Today, Feathered Quill reviewer Diana Coyle is talking with J.L. Askew, author of Alaska Bloodlust.

FQ: One of the first things I do when I read a book by an author I’m unfamiliar with is read the author’s bio to get to know them better. Would you please tell us a few things about yourself so that new readers, like myself, can learn about you?

ASKEW: I’ve always read everything I could get my hands on, even reading the daily newspaper front to back from the time I was in elementary school. Following twelve years of public school I graduated from the University of Memphis with a degree in psychology. I began writing down daily events randomly then started keeping a diary in my twenties. In my job as a social worker I wrote family histories, case summaries, and court reports. After getting a technical degree I spent 34 years as a field engineer with corporations like Siemens and General Electric working on MRI systems. I retired in 2015 and began writing full time. Currently I have published three books.

FQ: Can you please tell our readers a brief synopsis of your book, Alaska Bloodlust, and what specifically makes your book unique?

ASKEW: The story is about a young PI just back from Alaska where his first case almost becomes his last. Race Warren is exhausted and wants to forget but he is soon engulfed in the aftermath of what happened in Alaska and it’s even worse than before.
I think the villain, Kallick Smith, is what distinguishes the book. A native from the North Slope, Smith is a cult leader with mystical ideas that shape him as a killer. He and Warren have a series of deadly encounters that leads to a final faceoff in the far North.

FQ: I loved how well-written Alaska Bloodlust was and how you decided to create an interwoven storyline from the first book into this second book for readers to carry on Race Warren’s mission.  You created amazingly believable characters and an in depth storyline within these pages. How long did it take you to write this second book and can you explain a bit about the process for you?

ASKEW: I wrote this book in nine months, quicker than the first one. I’m a “pantser” by nature, letting my imagination have full rein, and the story simply evolves. The process was helped by key points emanating from the previous book but Alaska Bloodlust can be read singly because I think I provide enough details to make it a standalone thriller.

FQ: When can your anxious readers expect your next book to be available within this series and can you give us a quick synopsis of it?

ASKEW: The next book will complete the trilogy and it will take longer because of what I’ve learned from the first two. I’m trying an outline this time, hoping to have a better plot. I’m trying to be more original and striving for improved dialogue that will be more concise and realistic.

The book will focus more on Ron Billings, the ex-cop who saved Warren in the first book. Basically, Billings is on a vendetta to find the assassin who killed his daughter. Warren will be helping him but the book will be all about Billings’ lust for vengeance. I hope to have it published sometime next year.

FQ: Where did you look upon for inspiration for writing this book?

ASKEW: Inspiration came from a photograph I got when I lived in Alaska. In the summer of 2009 I was at a downtown open air market in Anchorage where local vendors hawked their wares. A guide/wildlife photographer had hundreds of photos in his stall and I flipped through scores of them until I saw the picture of a lone wolf. I was smitten and bought the photo on the spot. It appears as the front cover of Alaska Deadly.

FQ: What made you want to be a published author?

ASKEW: I put in four years of research to write my first book, a narrative history of an artillery unit in the Civil War. I wanted it published to remember the soldiers. I was going to do another one but my brother insisted that I branch into fiction. I dedicated Alaska Bloodlust to him.

FQ: Please tell us what is your writing routine like?

ASKEW: I write most every day, starting early and going an hour or so before a break. The writing is never continuous but I put in three or four solid hours of effort. By 4:00 pm I usually stop from exhaustion. Some days I manage just half a page and on good days I get two or three.

FQ: To wrap up our interview, is there anything you would like to add to tell our readers?

ASKEW: I am honored that people choose my books to read. I do signings at book stores and sell books at various venues and I’m always thrilled to talk to readers.

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