Heel Turn
by Kevin R. Doyle
GENRE: Mystery
BLURB:
Released from prison for one murder, only to be arrested for a second, Sheila Hampton has no one to turn to save Sam Quinton, local private eye, who sets out to prove her innocence and uncover the knot of corruption that entangled its victim for over two decades.
Purchase Heel Turn on Amazon
Excerpt:
Across from me, in the back row on the other side of the room, sat a cluster of five women perched forward in their seats, their eyes locked on the proceedings. They all looked to be in the forty to fifty-year age range, with teased, 1980’s style hairdos and tight-fitting clothes. I wondered if by chance they were friends of Sheila’s from back when, come to either show their support or, more cynically, bask in a moment of catty superiority.
My life may not be great, but at least I didn’t end up like poor Sheila over there.
I did, however, feel someone checking me out, and turned to look straight ahead. About two rows in front, a tall fiftyish woman with long blonde hair had her arm propped on the back of her seat, her body twisted enough to put me right in her line of sight.
Outside, she silently mouthed to me before turning back to watch the proceedings. I tuned into what was happening just as, as expected, the judge denied Sheila bail and ordered her held until trial.
As the deputy guarding her led Sheila away and Bernie walked over to speak to the prosecutor, I glanced over where the woman who’d motioned to me had been sitting. She was already up and half out of the courtroom, pausing only long enough to bat her eyes and nod her head towards the outer doors.
What the hell?
Interview with Kevin R. Doyle
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
Heel Turn is the second in a series of private eye mysteries. The basic idea for the protagonist came to me some years back when a group of my senior students almost overnight became fascinated with professional wrestling. I was looking for a possible hook to begin an actual series of books, and the thought popped into my head of a former pro wrestler turned night club bouncer turned private eye.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
Well, this is going to sound pretty mercenary, but my main goal was to follow up the initial outing, Squatter’s Rights, and convince the publisher to keep them coming. As of this moment, I’m waiting to see the galleys on book number four and I’m committed to doing at least two more, so all things considered I think I hit the mark I was going for.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
Primarily timing. It came about during a two-year period when I had actually committed to turning out four books. With a full-time teaching position, that ended up being a bit much to take on.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
Honestly, the answer would be the same for any of the ones in this series. The Sam Quinton books, mainly because of their genre, are a little lighter in tone than my other works. There’s kind of a breezy flow to them that, so far, makes them wisp right out of the computer.
Whee there alternate endings you considered?
No. As with most of my work, I didn’t have an exact ending in mind when I began. However, about halfway through the first draft I could kind of see where it was going, and it ended up about where I expected.
Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?
There really wasn’t any research done.
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
Mysteries, naturally. Almost all sub genres except for cozies. When I was a kid, I enjoyed cozies, but lost the taste for them in my twenties. Right now, I’m embarked on a project to acquire and read all of Leslie Charteris’s Saint books. I also enjoy reprints of old pulp magazine stories, along with most sorts of speculative fiction except for high fantasy.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A high-school teacher, former college instructor, and fiction writer, Kevin R. Doyle is the author of numerous short horror stories. He’s also written three crime thrillers, The Group, When You Have to Go There, and And the Devil Walks Away, and one horror novel, The Litter. In the last few years, he’s begun working on the Sam Quinton private eye series, published by Camel Press. The first Quinton book, Squatter’s Rights, was nominated for the 2021 Shamus award for Best First PI Novel. The second book, Heel Turn, was released in March of 2021, while the third in the series, Double Frame, came out in March of 2022.
Connect with Kevin R. Doyle
3 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Good morning. Thanks for hosting me today.
This sounds like a wonderful book.
Post a Comment