MLC: Do you remember the first mystery you ever read? If so, what was it, and what pulled you into it?
AUTHOR: Conan Doyle. I was in fifth or sixth grade when I read and re-read all the great Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The idea of the “scientific method” was what I loved; also it’s what most likely led me to eventually become a pathologist.
Later—in my teens—I was taken by Dashiell Hammett’s writing. What could be finer than the stories of The Continental Op? Of course, Poe is hard to beat for some dark mystery and suspense.
Incidentally, for an intriguing account of perhaps the very first “Sherlock,” check out THE BLACK TOWER by Louis Bayard; he introduces Eugene Francois Vidocq, the French post-revolution sleuth.
MLC: When did you first decide you wanted to write a mystery, and what led you to that decision?
AUTHOR: I never really decided to write a mystery. I set out to write a medical thriller that addresses one of the scariest biological problems today: our ability to manipulate viruses, and make them worse. I was told afterward that I ended up with a suspense-packed medical mystery, and a most peculiar protagonist.
MLC: Do you write in any other genres? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: I have written “historical thriller/mystery” since this first book, really the same genre, except historical.
MLC: Which comes first for you, the plot or the characters?
AUTHOR: For me, it’s the characters. They drive the plot, which in many respects is ever changing, in other respects stays fixed from the beginning.
MLC: When you are all wrapped up in the story, do you feel like you could solve the crime, or maybe even solve all the world’s mysteries?
AUTHOR: When I am finally finishing something, I do get peculiar feelings of grandeur, but I fight them off.
MLC: Do you write every day, or what kind of a schedule do you have? Do you write fulltime, or do you have a “day job”?
AUTHOR: I write every day in the morning. I try to be writing by 5:00 a.m., even earlier when I am into it. My “day job” is as a pathologist, scientist, and professor. Sometimes, I have to write into the night.
MLC: Other than your writing, what do you enjoy doing? What is the most important thing to you in your day-to-day life?
AUTHOR: I am a runner and swimmer. Of course, I enjoy reading. Working on my novel is the most important daily thing in my life.
MLC: Who are your favorite mystery authors? Do you try to emulate them in your own writing?
AUTHOR: James Lee Burke. Michael Connelly. In some respects of writing style, yes.
MLC: In your present book, is this part of a series, or is it a standalone book?
AUTHOR: Those who’ve read THE BLOOD NOTES OF PETER MALLOW are of mixed opinion as to whether I could write a sequel. I think it possible, but I have turned to historical medical mystery/thriller, and other characters.
MLC: If you are doing a series, do you see an end to it sometime, or do you plan to go on for several years with it?
AUTHOR: I take years for everything.
MLC: Do your characters ever drive you a bit crazy by going off in their own direction? If so, how do you rein them in, or do you just let them run off on their own?
AUTHOR: My characters come from my imagination, and therefore they are crazy. I’ve never really bought this “characters take off on their own” idea. They come from my head; sometimes they come out wrong and have to be corrected.
MLC: Do you pattern your sleuths after yourself or someone you know? If so, do you let that person know they were your “pattern”?
AUTHOR: I think all characters are a combination of ourselves (or who we wish we were) and our most/least favorite real people. I just hope those real people don’t come after me.
MLC: How long did it take you to get published? How many rejections did you have to suffer through first? Were you ever tempted to give up? What do you think made the difference when it was accepted?
AUTHOR: It takes forever to get published. Maybe longer. My favorite rejections are the “rave” rejections I’ve received, like, “this was the funniest thing I’ve ever read, but we don’t print humor.” That sort of thing. With regard to giving up, I gave up for so long on BLOOD NOTES that I wrote two novels (or at least pretty good drafts) while waiting for a bite. The difference for me is a good, honest literary agent who goes for what I am doing in a big way.
MLC: Do you ever attend any conferences? If so, which ones?
AUTHOR: Local groups, especially fiction and poetry (my first writing-love). I attend the yearly meeting of the Texas Writers’ League, a great organization, and I’ve won novel awards there.
MLC: Do you have to promote your own work, or does your publisher do that for you?
AUTHOR: little of both, or maybe a lot by myself.
MLC: If you have to do marketing, what methods have worked the best for you?
AUTHOR: I actually enjoy book signings. (I know that’s weird, but true.) It gives you a chance to meet people you don’t know from Adam (or Eve) and tell them about your story. Otherwise, I get a lot of radio and occasional TV interviews because of the topic of bio-labs, deadly viruses, etc. that are in BLOOD NOTES.
MLC: Do you have any idea how your book is selling?
AUTHOR: For a small publisher, quite well.
MLC: What has been the best review you have gotten, and why?
AUTHOR: A Fort Worth newspaper loved it. Totally loved it, out of the blue. Not sure why.
MLC: Have you won any awards, either as an author or for your books? Please tell us about them.
AUTHOR: I was a two-time winner of the Novel Contest of the Texas Writers League (a big and very good organization) in two separate categories with two different novels. That was quite an afternoon.
MLC: Is there any one certain thing that a reader has written to you that made you just want to jump up and shout “Yes!!!!”?
AUTHOR: When C.J. Peters (of THE HOT ZONE) said about BLOOD NOTES: “You will love the characters as they try to control their (and our) destinies.”
MLC: What is your next project, and when will it be out?
AUTHOR: THE ICE MERCHANT, a novel: In the year 1889, Nicolas Van Horne, a trader in ice is making a new port in Galveston, Texas, but in the bottom layer of his ice is a secret cargo of bodies and body parts that he supplies to the medical schools along the Mississippi.
MLC: If you could write anything at all, ignoring what editors and publishers say they want, what would it be?
AUTHOR: Historical biomedical thriller/mysteries.
MLC: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring mystery authors?
AUTHOR: 1) Keep writing. Every day.
2) Keep a notebook you can carry with you.
3) Study the characters around you.
MLC: Do you have any teasers for your readers and fans about the next book?
AUTHOR: The ice merchant Nicolas Van Horne becomes intimately involved in the discovery of a cure for the dread disease, yellow fever. He’s a lot more than a body-parts man.
MLC: If a genie suddenly appeared and said they would grant you just one wish for your books, what would you wish for?
AUTHOR: More time to write those books. If only my 401Ks hadn’t crashed.
MMLC: Please give us your website url and your email address where people can contact you.
AUTHOR:
www.paulboor.com (check out the cool musical intro; read a few pages there)
Drop a note at the website, or direct to:
pabloburrito@gmail.com
MLC: Thank you so much for giving us a little glimpse into your books and your life. We look forward to a lot more books from you.