
Woo hoo! My first interview! =) drey's library is absolutely thrilled to have Sheldon Rusch stop by for a visit! Sheldon is the author of a series of crime-fiction novels - For Edgar, The Boy with Perfect Hands, and Separated at Death.
About the author:
Sheldon was born in Augusta, Georgia. He left after his first year and did the rest of his growing up in Wisconsin, most of it in a suburb of Milwaukee called Wauwatosa (Native American for “where the fireflies gather”). Sheldon received a degree in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin. A career as an advertising copywriter and creative director followed. He is married to Katie, an accomplished poet and musician, and they have three phenomenal kids - Shannon, Michaela and Jackson. Sheldon has also practiced yoga for nearly twenty years, and is an instructor in the Iyengar style (since 1998).
D: Hi Sheldon! Welcome to drey's library, and thank you so much for doing this interview. I'm just going to jump right in and ask - Why write? Did you always want to write? How did you figure out that it was time to write? I mean, you must have a busy life already...
SR: I’ve always written. Since I was a child I just kind of knew it was something I would do. And then when I started sharing some of my writing – again as a child – I was quite impressed with the power of words, the affect words and written ideas could have on people. I think people who write tend to have minds that form thoughts in detailed phrases, with fairly complex construction. And I think it’s just the demand of those thoughts to be expressed. Then you throw in a visual imagination and there’s really not much that can stop it from happening.
I wrote poems, short stories in high school, then I worked as a copywriter in the advertising field for many years. I toyed with the idea of writing a novel for probably five years before I actually started the first one. Now I’ve written four – one of which has only been published in Germany so far. I still work in advertising. I’m married, with three children. I write whenever I can. Mornings. Lunches. Weekends. I try to write fifteen polished pages a week. In a year’s time I have a fairly polished draft. Then I spend about six months editing and finishing. It’s funny, I never really think about the process. It’s just something that goes on.

D: Was Elizabeth Hewitt a character that's been percolating around for a while? Or did she just show up and knock on the door one day?
SR: With Elizabeth, it’s kind of like when you meet a person and befriend them immediately and there’s a sense that you’ve kind of known them – or certain aspects of them – all along. She’s no doubt a composite of women I‘ve known and been close to. She’s also my feminine alter ego. I don’t know if all men who create female leads would admit that. But it’s pretty clear to me that’s what goes on. I think male authors who create female leads without tapping into that would be creating some fairly robotic and predictable characters. I guess I’ve seen that. Anyway, people seem to like the character. So I guess at some level, they also like me – or would if we ever met at a cocktail party.
D: How do you come up with the crimes for your books? Some of them had me wondering "where did he get this from??" Should I be worried that you know who I am? *grin*
SR: Well, I don’t know where you live. So you can take comfort in that. You know if you want to see the darkest side of humanity just look at the great works of fiction from time immemorial, The Bible included. It’s not as if Stephen King and Thomas Harris were the first ones to ever go there. I mean my goodness, Poe. And with Poe, it’s no coincidence that his works were the basis of the crimes in my first novel. I remember reading him in eighth grade, being smitten with the outrageousness of the thinking, the imagination, the audacity he had to spend time in those dark places of the soul and bring it into the candlelight for everybody else. And when I decided I would try my hand at psychological thrillers…well, I guess the first rule of writing psych thrillers is you have to thrill readers with things they’d never conceive of, much less carry out – not even on their worst hair day.
People are surprised when they find out this mild mannered guy with kids who practices yoga writes the kind of darkly thrilling material I write. But to me it’s kind of like an actor playing a role that requires delving deeply into that darker side of the personality. Hey, but I also coach my kids’ basketball teams. And if you saw me standing in line at Baskin Robbins, you’d think I was just another guy who likes sugar cones with a single scoop of Jamocha.

D: Hmm, you still know who I am, though... Doesn't take more than Google to find me, really... Ok, back on track. =) What's next? Is there another turn-on-all-the-lights-or-only-read-in-broad-daylight Liz Hewitt book in the works? How long before our desire for another toe-curling, hide-behind-the-fingers, thriller, is sated?
SR: Okay here’s a deal: I’ll promise not to peek into your windows if you promise not to peek into mine. As for the next Liz Hewitt book, it gets a little tricky. It also rolls into your next question. A fourth Hewitt book already exists. It’s called Mother of God. I wrote it before I wrote For Edgar. It was the book that introduced the Hewitt character. It was never published. That is, until my books started doing well in Germany. It was recently published (as a prequel to For Edgar) under the title Sündenmord in German-speaking countries. We are hoping to have the book released in English at some point. Or would that just make too much sense? In any event, I have a fourth and/or fifth Hewitt book already developed in outline. And, just to complicate things even more, I’ve written the first half of a suspense novel outside the Hewitt series that could become a series of its own.
D:Why is one of your books only published (& sold?) in Germany? (What do they have that we don't?)
SR: I think I answered some of this in the last question. For people who really want to read Mother of God, it isn’t fair. What does Germany have that we don’t? Well, the simple answer is more buyers of my books. I sell more books over there than I do here. If people really want to read Mother of God someday (and it is, by the way, my favorite of all the books), send your requests to Berkley Books.

And to finish off, a mini-Proust list:
- What is your idea of earthly happiness? Being comfortable in my own skin. Having a purpose. Adding more than I subtract.
- What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Disconnection from the capacity to love.
- Who is/are your favorite heroine(s) in fiction? Penelope in The Odyssey – that was a long time to wait.
- Who is/are your favorite heroine(s) in real life? Mother Theresa – she had her doubts, but she never lost her purpose.
- What sound do you love? The breathing sounds of my children when they sleep.
- What sound do you hate? The barking dog that startles me when I go out for my newspaper.
- The quality you admire most in a man? Sensitivity.
- The quality you admire most in a woman? Soulfulness.
- If not a writer, you would be a… teacher/basketball coach.
- What is your favorite swear word? Unfortunately, the f-bomb.
Sheldon, thank you so much for taking the time to indulge us (me? definitely me!) by doing this interview. I know you're a busy fella, and I truly appreciate the effort that went into answering these questions. For all you new fans, Sheldon can be found online at his
website.
Now, because he's a nice guy, Sheldon says I can do this awesome giveaway. Are you ready to hear what it is? Are you? Are you? (yes, I'm geeking out - I heart giveaways!)
One lucky, lucky reader will receive a three-pack from Sheldon. That's the mother lode of Liz Hewitt books! & if it needs 'splainin' - that's For Edgar, The Boy with Perfect Hands, AND Separated at Death.
BUT WAIT! We're not done yet. For every twenty
people entered, 1 copy of Separated at Death is will be up for grabs, and there's up to
5 copies to be had. So tell everyone!
Next question - How do you win? Why, read on...
Can I win? This is open to anyone in the United States or Canada. No P.O. Boxes, please.
How do I win? Easy-peasy. Comment and ask Sheldon a question (please keep it clean!). One entry per question - please be nice and don't ask something someone else already asked... He'll be popping in on-and-off and responding. The guy does work full-time, so don't get upset if he's not answering your question 3 minutes after you asked it, ok? =)
What's the deadline? You have until 10:00pm on March 27th to enter. Don't forget that I'll need some way to get a hold of you if you've won, & if I don't hear from you within
3 days of posting winners I'll ask Randomizer for a replacement.
How do we get extra entries? The usual: +1 for following, +2 for sharing this interview & giveaway with everyone you can think of! =) And that's +2 for EVERY share. So tweet it. Blog it. email it (cc me). Come back & let me know what & where...
Too impatient to wait? Each book cover links to Amazon.com, where you can get your very own copies.
That's it. Thanks for swinging by and reading Sheldon's interview. Now, go read his books! =) And oh yeah, good luck!