Dancing With Myself: ED LYNSKEY interviews ED LYNSKEY

Q: Have we met before, Mr. Lynskey? You look awfully familiar to me.

A: I don’t think so. I’m certain the resemblance is only coincidental.

 

Q: Then shall we get started?...Good…So, tell us a little about yourself.

 

A: First off, let’s be sure to thank Nigel for hosting our Q&A.


Q: Absolutely. Should I repeat my first question?


A: No. I write the Private Investigator Frank Johnson mystery series. This year’s installment is The Zinc Zoo. Frank sees his move to the big city is like living at “the zinc zoo.” And like Frank is, I’m also a laconic cuss.


Q: So I see. This interview will be like pulling teeth. Did I read or hear somewhere you also penned a—cough, cough—cozy mystery?

 

A: Yep, I sure did. Quiet Anchorage is about a pair of 70-something sisters living in a small town of the same name, and they are forced to investigate a murder that their niece is arrested for committing. It was fun to write Quiet Anchorage. I’ll reveal here for the first time that the sisters Alma and Isabel are, in fact, my real life aunties who have long since passed away. Before I forget it, let me get my plug in. Quiet Anchorage is on sale, as we speak.

Q: That’s quite a change of pace for a hardboiled guy like you are. Any idea why you wrote it?

A: Not really. My birth sign is Gemini, so maybe I suffer from a split personality. Either that or I’m a Renaissance Man of multiple talents.


Q: Moving right along, my note cards show you’ve got a third book on tap this year. Lake Charles. Sounds as if there’s a lot on your plate right now.

A: Indeed. It feels like a three-course meal at a royal banquet.

Q: Impressive. Are your books flying off the shelves and selling like hot cakes?


A: Short answer: hardly that. I stated it feels like, not that it is a royal banquet. Anyway, Lake Charles is up for pre-sale orders on Amazon. The release date is set for June.


Q: What then possessed you to sit down and write Lake Charles?


A: Cell phones are why. Seeing them being used everywhere pissed me off big time. They make things too easy and convenient. I remember a time when communication wasn’t that way. So I wrote Lake Charles set in the 1970s when cell phones only existed in science fiction tales.

 Q: Speaking of science fiction, I heard Lake Charles features an eerie dream sequence. Care to comment?


A: You bet. I spent a lot of time on weaving it into the storyline. In fact, Lake Charles took me some eight years to write, edit, submit, and now publish. The late, great George W. Scithers edited it for Wildside Press. Anyway, eight years is a long time, and I don’t want to do that with every future book. I’m not Rip Van Winkle, and nobody is getting any younger, now are we?


Q: No sir, but I’ll ask the questions, if you don’t mind. Why should I want to read Lake Charles?


A: Because it’s a simmering stewpot of sex, violence, deceit, rage, and a dash of humor. Brendan Fishback is a troubled young man trying to beat a murder rap, detox from a pot habit, and find his missing sister. Lake Charles takes place in the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, a picturesque region. I’ve spent some time there digging the scene and vibe.


Q: Sweet. It sounds noir to the bone, my kind of a book. So, tell me, does our hero Brendan ever bail out of the ‘simmering stewpot?’


A: Why ask me? Buy and read the fricking book. My cat and I have to eat.


Q: Our time is running tight. We better wind this up. Any last words to share with our readers?


A: Thanks for chatting with me. Thanks to Nigel again, too.


Q: Okay, then this is a wrap. Be well and persevere, Mr. Lynskey.

A: Always, and right back at you.


Links to purchase Quiet Anchorage and Lake Charles:

Click here to pre-order Lake Charles at Amazon.

Click here to order Quiet Anchorage (Kindle) at Amazon