We are delighted to welcome author Bill Larkin to Omnimystery News today.
Bill's new series mystery is Bullet in the Blue Sky (August 2016 trade paperback and ebook formats) and we recently caught up with him to talk more about it.
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Omnimystery News: Introduce us to your series characters.
Photo provided courtesy of
Bill Larkin
Bill Larkin: The lead character in my series works for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, initially on Harbor Patrol, then he promotes to investigator. Kevin "Schmitty" Schmidt is a laid back, sarcastic guy who's had a career limiting run-in with a department commander. In the latest book, Bullet in the Blue Sky, he's managed to get assigned to a task force in Los Angeles with another series character, Detective Mata of the LAPD. In the previous book, they were opposing characters and now they are working together, so the dynamic of the partnership develops. Schmitty is somewhat of an Average Joe, but he's forced to inherit leadership of a search and rescue mission. We see them both pushed to the edge, with goals that are often at odds. Schmitty becomes the classic searcher. We see his strong will for justice and ability to navigate deceit.
OMN: Tell us a little more about your writing process.
BL: Both readers and writers are often curious about different writing processes. For me, I need to start with an interesting premise. That seed of the story is a unique situation or dilemma causing characters to drive the plot forward while being tested. I'll usually try to explore things like duty, trust, and sacrifice, and to plan what is hidden from the characters and/or reader. Although I am building in thematic subtext too, but at the end of the day, a book is like a movie or a TV show, it's about being entertained. It's about emotions. I do have character bios, and I like to incorporate character change and growth in each book. However, in a crime fiction series, it's often about how the case and situations affect the characters rather than a single life-changing transformation. I plot to some degree, but expand as I write and re-write. Every character needs to have a contributory role in the story.
OMN: How important is setting to your stories?
BL: Setting can have incredible meaning to readers who have been to places described. In other case, it has less meaning, but it always contributes to the mood and nuance of a story. I've heard from many readers how much they liked reading about familiar places. The vast majority of places I write about are places I've been, worked, or visited. Mostly in Southern California. It's such a vast landscape of different locales, socio-economic pockets, cultures, and world-famous landmarks. Nobody elicited the true nature of a city better than Raymond Chandler. Even though his books are some sixty years old, they so perfectly describe Los Angeles, even today. It tells you a lot about Philip Marlowe by how he traverses and interprets the city. A lot of contemporaries like Michael Connelly and Robert Crais write Los Angeles with such brilliance. Barry Eisler has written international locations with great detail. A character has a certain relationship with the physical environment, the social underpinnings, the politics, and how he or she fits into the setting. It's a part of characterization. The only rule is if you have a homicide, don't make it a real restaurant!
OMN: How did Bullet in the Blue Sky come to be titled?
BL: Titles are a tricky thing. On one hand, they are supposed to communicate the book's style, genre, and tone quickly and in as few words as possible. On the other hand, they should have personal relevance to the story. Bullet in the Blue Sky is about the aftermath of an earthquake. I could have named it earthquake something, or used words implying devastation, but that was really just the setting for the characters. As events unfold, we learn about a situation where one of the characters had used his pistol and fired a bullet in the blue sky, missing his target. The incident has relevance to the characters and the story, so once you've read it, you understand the significance.
OMN: What kinds of television shows do you enjoy watching?
BL: I'm reluctant to admit this, but I probably spend more time watching TV shows and movies than reading. I'm usually cognizant of the three-act structure of a movie. I sometimes like to guess what will occur. I think the caliber of TV shows in recent years and increased greatly. There are some incredibly talented showrunners, writers, directors, and others making so many great shows. In recent years, I've watched Breaking Bad, Madmen, Sons of Anarchy, House of Cards, Better Call Saul, Man in the High Castle, Orange is the New Black, Fargo, Justified, Bosch, and Aquarius, to name a few.
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Bill Larkin previously served as a Reserve Deputy with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, then the Los Angeles Police Department where he last worked in a detective assignment. Bill is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers.
For more information about the author, please visit his website at Bill-Larkin.com and his author page on Goodreads, or find him on Twitter.
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Bullet in the Blue Sky by Bill Larkin
A Kevin Schmidt Mystery
Publisher: Bill Larkin
In the chaotic aftermath of a massive earthquake that leveled much of the Los Angeles region, a LAPD deputy chief sends an elite team of detectives on a rescue mission. They are ordered to set aside all law enforcement duties, to ignore the destruction and to focus on one task: Find LAPD Detective Gavin Shaw, who disappeared just before the earthquake.
Kevin "Schmitty" Schmidt of the Orange County Sheriff's Department joins five others on the rescue team. With rioting, looting, attacks and homicides rampant in the streets, the six cops have to defend themselves while chasing down leads on the whereabouts of Shaw. The mission takes them through the dizzying war zone and the more they encounter, the more they wonder why they are searching for one man in these extreme circumstances. Why is this man so important to the deputy chief, and why now?
Schmitty discovers that others with high connections are also after Shaw. The questions pile even higher when they learn of a shadowy history between Shaw and the deputy chief. A history with deadly consequences for the team as they uncover a threat that elevates the mission to a race against time.
— Bullet in the Blue Sky by Bill Larkin
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