MLC: What did you do for a living before writing mysteries?
AUTHOR: I practiced law with a litigation law firm in Indianapolis from 1972 until 1978, when I left to join Sundstrand Corporation, now Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation. As a legal executive at UTC, I was responsible for litigation, antitrust and other significant matters, usually on behalf of the Hamilton Sundstrand subsidiary. When I retired in 2002, I taught Business Law at a major university in southern Connecticut, and I plan to return to teaching at the University of Arizona in the near future. And when I’m not writing, I arbitrate disputes and consult with business entities.
MLC: What's your average day like?
AUTHOR: Varied. Some days I write; some days I work with my publicist; some days I garden or go hiking; and some days I spend on the phone with legal colleagues or clients, or on email or working up PowerPoint presentations.
MLC: Do you have pets?
AUTHOR: My wife and I are mourning the loss of our two Chesapeake Retrievers, dogs we dearly loved, who succumbed to the ravages of aging last year. Meanwhile, we have an alpha female cat, we can’t tame or humble.
MLC: Are you a morning person or a night owl?
AUTHOR: Night owl. I’m an insomniac, so I have no choice. The only way I see a dawn is if I haven’t been to bed yet.
MLC: What groups are you a member of that you feel are important for you as a writer?
AUTHOR: DorothyL, Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Desert Sleuths, and International Association of Crime Writers.
MLC: When did you start writing?
AUTHOR: Off and on since I was eleven, but especially so when my father died at the age of 53. He and I had planned to write together, but Dad didn’t make it. So I carry the torch without him.
MLC: Have you taught writing classes?
AUTHOR: Yes, at seminars conducted at bookstores and libraries. And I taught writing skills as part of my classroom activities as a Business Law professor at a major university in Connecticut. But these courses were part of the Business School curriculum, not a Fine Arts major curriculum.
MLC: Have you taken writing classes?
AUTHOR: Yes, in college and during law school.
MLC: What are your views on critique groups?
AUTHOR: Depends on who is involved, their purpose and the structure. Generally, I’m not a big fan, just as I was not a fan of study groups at law school. Constructive criticism is definitely useful and valuable, but only if it comes from respected avenues and fine tunes or sharpens one’s work. These are tools, but some tools are better than other tools, some are used improperly, and some are indispensable to the job. Critique groups can be beneficial but also can standardize or even stifle creativity.
MLC: What is your favorite subgenre of mysteries?
AUTHOR: Personally, I like historical mysteries or thrillers.
MLC: What has been your biggest challenge in being published?
AUTHOR: Having to get used to self-promotion at the level required.
MLC: Why did you decide to write the mysteries you're writing?
AUTHOR: Because I love reading them. A wise man once said, “If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, you should be doing something else.” I think that applies to writing, too.
MLC: How did you choose the setting for your mysteries?
AUTHOR: They were interesting places, places I really enjoyed visiting. Plus, they are uncommon. How many mysteries take place on a major mountain as in Alibi On Ice? Or how many mysteries take place in Moroccan souks, on high Altlas Mountain passes, or in medieval Spanish mountain villages as in The Olive Horseshoe?
MLC: What was the inspiration for your mysteries?
AUTHOR: For Alibi On Ice, it was familiarity with the mountain, familiarity with personalities in the mountain community, and knowing lawyers who climbed mountains in their spare time. One day , while climbing in a Rainier crevasse, it struck me: What a great place to stash a body! And for The Olive Horseshoe, it was newspaper articles that indicated drug activities by the mafia and South American cartels were now running through Africa, specifically Morocco across the Straits to Spain and then through Europe. Traveling through Morocco and Spain, I visualized how such a smuggling operation could be structured, so I started putting it onto paper… or… uh… computer.
MLC: What writers have inspired you?
AUTHOR: Jeff Deaver, John Sanford, Vince Flynn, Joseph Finder, Shane Gericke, and Nelson DeMille.
MLC: How do you come up with your plot ideas for your mysteries?
AUTHOR: From newspapers, from dreams, from casual conversations, from real life experiences during my career, altered just a bit maybe.
MLC: How do you research for your mysteries? How long does it take?
AUTHOR: I buy a lot of books, and I keep three computers running. Or I talk to people with background in the area that interests me. That’s hard to say, because I’m always finding a need for information while I’m writing. So, for me, it’s almost a never-ending process. Yes, I will do primary research over a period of months, but even when that aspect is finished, I find I have to go back and push some more buttons or dig a bit deeper. Or as I write, I may change the plot, which will send me off in a new research direction. So for me, research isn’t done until the book is done.
MLC: Is the setting of your mysteries imaginary or real? Why?
AUTHOR: Real. Because if these places really exist, my story picks up some credibility. I cannot tell you the number of people who have commented about spots on Mount Rainier and the way I described them. Heck, even Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, commented about some of my Rainier descriptions. We laughed about a little-known bridge over the Nisqually River behind Longmire. Same with The Olive Horseshoe. That’s why I posted pictures on my website of some of the places in both books where action takes place.
MLC: Do you live where you set your mysteries?
AUTHOR: No.
MLC: Tell us about your latest mystery.
AUTHOR: It’s a tale of revenge. The setting changes from New York to the California Wine District, from the crowded souks of Marrakech to the roaring rivers of the High Atlas Mountains, from ancient Roman ruins to medieval Spanish mountain villages. Who murdered Denton Wright’s father and another man? And why? You’d best set some time aside for this book. The pacing will not let you sleep.
Website: Http://BenFSmall.com
E-mail address: BFSmall@msn.com
Blog: Coming Soon.