We are delighted to welcome author David Burnsworth to Omnimystery News today, courtesy of Great Escapes Book Tours, which is coordinating his current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find his schedule here.
We visited with David last year just after his murder mystery Southern Heat (Five Star; February 2014 hardcover and ebook formats) was published. When we later asked him if we would see Brack Pelton, the lead character of the book, in a sequel, his reply to us was, "Series-ously?"
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Photo provided courtesy of
David Burnsworth
I love the thriller and mystery series genres. Especially the ones that have been around for a few books, allowing me to get to know the characters. Jack Reacher, Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers, Liz Talbot, John Wells, Kathy Mallory, Harry Bosch, Jane Ryland, Tess Monaghan … the list could go on and on. There is just something about stepping into these characters' worlds for a few hours. That is a primary reason I chose to go the series route for my own writing. I wanted to spend more time with my characters, too.
The masters of the craft grow their characters and we get to grow with them. Dave Robicheaux has been fighting himself and the bottle for a long time. James Lee Burke has done such a phenomenal job with him that I feel I can tell when Dave is about to fall by the scenes Burke sets up. Carol O'Connell's Kathy Mallory owns her scenes. She is such a strong character for being a young prodigy detective, yet she is slowly learning how to be human as well. (If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, read the series!)
In the same way, I know my main character, Brack Pelton, has to grow. He has to get his life in better order. But like me, sometimes he stumbles over his own feet. And it's in the stumbling that I learn more about him. Some authors have their character's lives outlined pretty far ahead and I applaud them for that. For all my good intentions of planning, Brack has other ideas. He takes over. It's his story and he is going to live in it his way.
Sometimes, I must admit, he can be frustrating. I'm like, "Come on Brack. I need you to do this, otherwise I have to change this scene and the next four." He stops in the middle of the scene, lights a cigar, looks at me, and says, "You and I both know that isn't going to happen." We go back and forth for more than a few rounds as I type, retype, and try to force the square peg into the round hole. Finally, I rewrite the scene his way and then fix the next four that I'd already sketched out. And it works better than I ever intended.
It only took a few failed attempts at the frontal assault with Brack before I learned to change tactics. He thrives on conflict. It is in the heat of the moment that he excels. Knowing this, I have a lot of fun throwing everything at him but the kitchen sink. Time and time again he shows me something new about himself. Something that, back when he'd first assembled himself from the pile of protagonist discards I'd been toying with for a few years and risen onto the page, I never in my wildest dreams thought he'd become. And I just smile, pat my muse on the back, and give a toast to Brack. The bugger!
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David Burnsworth became fascinated with the Deep South at a young age. After a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and fifteen years in the corporate world, he made the decision to write a novel. Having lived in Charleston on Sullivan’s Island for five years, the setting was a foregone conclusion. He and his wife along with their dog call South Carolina home.
For more information about the author, please visit his website at DavidBurnsworthBooks.com and his author page on Goodreads, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Southern Heat by David Burnsworth
A Murder Mystery
Publisher: Five Star
Gunshots echo down an antebellum Charleston alley. Brack Pelton, an ex-racecar driver and Afghanistan War veteran, witnesses the murder of his uncle, Reggie Sails. Darcy Wells, the pretty Palmetto Pulse reporter, investigates Reggie's murder and targets Brack.
The sole heir of his uncle's estate, Brack receives a rundown bar called the Pirate's Cove, a rotting beach house, and one hundred acres of preserved and valuable wetland along the Ashley River. A member of Charleston's wealthiest and oldest families offers Brack four million dollars for the land. All Brack wants is his uncle's killer.
From the sandy beaches of Isle of Palms, through the nineteenth-century mansions lining the historic Battery, to the marshlands surrounding the county, Southern Heat is drenched in the humidity of the lowcountry.
— Southern Heat by David Burnsworth
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