Patricia:
Bill, I’m so glad you could be with us today. Please tell us, what are your
favorite things to do when you’re not reading or writing?
Bill:
With a busy work schedule, an active family, and a new puppy, there’s barely
even time to read or write. When I can carve out some time, I usually put the
earbuds in and get a little exercise on the wooded trails of Arlington. I’m
also a massive comic book fan, so whatever I’m doing, there’s a good chance I’m
doing it while secretly pretending I’m Batman.
Patricia:
What’s your favorite color? Why?
Bill:
Any shade of blue. It’s calm and serene and life is anything but.
Patricia:
How would you describe yourself, personality wise?
Bill:
I once took the Myers-Briggs personality test and the results stated, “You are
an introvert, but no one will believe you when you tell them.” I was also voted
my high school’s “Most Organized” senior, a category they created just for me.
In other words, sorry ladies – I’m married.
Patricia:
Do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go
and/or what was your favorite vacation?
Bill:
There are a couple of places in particular I’ve always been enamored with and
my thriller, Slipping The Cable,
makes good use of both of them. The first is Ocean City, the perfect Jersey
Shore resort town. I’ve been vacationing there since I was a little boy and no
matter how old I get, it still retains its childhood, summertime magic for me.
Key West also has a strong pull on me. When I was in the Coast Guard, we sailed
into the rowdy little island and I was immediately enchanted by it. My novel
hinges on the tense dynamic between Kelly Sensor, the youngest officer aboard
the Coast Guard Sentinel, and his
vengeful captain, Aregood. When I needed an idyllic home town for Kelly to hail
from to contrast the danger and claustrophobia of his shipboard life, I
naturally chose Ocean City. And when Kelly and Aregood’s battle of wills
explodes into disaster, the young officer hopes to escape to Key West, but
paradise becomes a dead end when his captain pursues him. And I just completed
the first draft of my latest novel, The
Beast of Barcroft, in which something unnatural emerges from – you guessed
it – the woods of Arlington, Virginia to stalk its residents. So if I love a
place, I mythologize it. It’s a good excuse to spend time in my favorite places
in my head when I can’t be there in person.
Patricia:
How would you complete this sentence? If I won a million dollars, I would …
Bill:
say, “No more questions, don’t you people know I’m a MILLIONAIRE?” Then I would
jump into my custom-made Batmobile and floor it, leaving everyone choking on a
cloud of dust. The universe will never grant me a million dollars, Pat. I would
abuse it.
