Introducing Shadows Kill by Bill Holland

marcoujor

After I participated in the Interview challenge: "The Next Best Thing" started by my friend and colleague Lois W. Stern, I decided to reach out to some of my friends who had recently written/ were in the final stages of writing their own book.
 
I was thrilled when Bill Holland, also known as billybuc to his loyal readers, was the first to answer my call.
    
If you haven't checked out Bill's writing yet, you really should. From fiction to fact, to everything in between, Bill is a wordsmith and makes it his business to share whatever he knows with anyone who cares enough to ask. 
 
I, for one, am sending this interview far and wide. I want this man to find a publisher! Hope you enjoy enough to share with your friends too. 

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Bill Holland - Author of Shadows Kill

Maria: What is the title of your book?

Bill: The title is “Shadows Kill.”

Maria: Where did the idea come from for this book?

Bill: Oh my! As usual, this book took a roundabout route to completion. I wanted to create a character like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher in  his series of suspense/thrillers, so this book idea started with my main character, Eli Baker. Once I wrote his mini-biography and had the character I could live with, then I wrote a story around him.

It was going to be a simple mystery and I was actually 10,000 words into it when I changed my mind. I wanted to add some paranormal to it. I also wanted a psychopath in it like Hannibal Lecter, so I threw away the first 10,000 words and started the story over incorporating those key elements. What I ended up with was a story about a vigilante who is suddenly targeted by a psychopath who is killing off the women in Baker’s life. Baker must unravel a deep, dark family secret before everyone he loves is killed.

Maria: What genre does your book fall under? 

Bill:This is a suspense/thriller. It started out as a mystery but the mystery was solved halfway through the book, so I decided it didn’t fit in that genre.

Maria: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
 
Bill: What a great question. This one took me a little thought.

• Eli Baker, the main character, would be played by Matt Damon
  
• Liz Myers would be played by Evan Rachel Wood
  
• Lyle Peterson would be played by  Tom Selleck
  
• Father Walker would be played by Bradley Cooper
  
• Jeremy Bancroft, the scary antagonist, would be played by  Jake Gyllenhaal
  

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Maria: What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book? 

Bill: “Death Wish” meets “Silence of the Lambs.”  They date, have a child, and that child is “Shadows Kill.”

Maria: Is your book self-published or represented by an agency? 

Bill: I don’t have any plans to self-publish this book, Maria. As I told you earlier, my dream has always been to be published by a traditional publisher and this is the book that is going to accomplish that for me.  That’s how confident I am in this book.  Now, of course, I may be wrong.  If I don’t find an agent or publisher within one year you just might see this on Amazon as an ebook, but not a minute before then.  The time for me to make my dream a reality is now.

Maria: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Bill: The first draft took five months.  From start to finish, including all the edits and rewrites, took eight months.

Maria: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Bill: This is actually written in the style of James Lee Burke.  There is much reflection, philosophy and psychological drama in this novel.

Maria: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Bill: I would have to say all of the fine mystery writers who came before me inspired me. I’ve read mysteries seemingly forever, starting with the Travis McGee novels written by John D. MacDonald many years ago.

Maria: What's next?  Working on any new books / ideas you can share with us...?

Bill: This is the first in what I hope will be a long series.  I have started the second in the series and the working title for this new one is “Shadows Over Innocence.”  All of the books in the series will have “Shadows” in the title.

Thanks, Bill.  This was awesome - and so are you, dear friend.
    
Until next time, keep reading good books!

Hugs, mar