Come and visit with Crime Author Alan Brenham....
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Brady knelt down next to the body and examined her head. One apparent gunshot wound above the right eye. Her half-opened eyes were fixed in a death stare, straight up at the ceiling.
Killebrew pointed at a hole in the wall opposite the front door. "We removed the bullet. It appears to be a nine millimeter. Same as the shell casing."
Brady saw blood spatter sprayed onto the lower half of the wall. He stood up, moved to the living room, and made a mental inventory of the room. The front window was covered with flowery-patterned drapes. A piano sat in the far corner by the front window. He was no expert on furniture but the victim’s appeared to be fairly expensive pieces. He saw mail lying on the coffee table. Using a pen, he sifted through it, checking the sender’s address, but nothing jumped out at him. A family portrait of her, an ordinary-looking man with narrow shoulders he assumed was Burt Smith, and twins—a girl and a boy—sat on the end of the table.
He ambled over to a European-style, white corded telephone, covered with black fingerprint powder, sitting on a table next to a leather tufted sofa. From the room’s furnishings and appearance, it seemed to him that she had money, and lots of it. Since no evidence indicative of a robbery existed, he wondered whether Burt Smith shot her or hired someone to do the job. As he walked through the remainder of the house, he asked himself, "Where the hell are you, Burt Smith?"
Brady did a records search of divorce records through the Bell County District Clerk’s online database. When the Becker-Smith divorce record showed up on the screen, he wrote down Burt Smith’s last known address, the Candlewood Suites, as well as the attorney’s name and address. The divorce petition was filed by Becker claiming irreconcilable differences as grounds. It listed two children, both over the age of eighteen.
Until next month...every one please stay safe. Smile. Be happy. Show compassion. Be nice to others. Put a little love into your heart.
Regards,
Welcome to an Interview with Crime Author Alan Behr....
Hello-Hello and how are you today? I'm back and hope
everyone is doing well and happy! Welcome back to my blog where I try to share whatever
I think may interest you. Today I interview a fellow author. And with me this
time is Crime Author Alan Behr.
Alan Brenham is the pseudonym for Alan Behr, an American
award-winning crime fiction author and attorney. His novel, Price of Justice,
was voted best in Police/Crime fiction from the Texas Association of Authors in
2013 and Finalist in the Beverly Hills Book Awards in 2013, a Finalist in the
Eric Hoffer Awards, and a Finalist in the 2014 International Book Awards. He served as a law enforcement officer before
earning a law degree and working as a prosecutor and a criminal defense
attorney. He has traveled to several countries in Europe, the Middle East,
Alaska, and almost every island in the Caribbean. While working with the US
Military Forces, he lived in Berlin, Germany for two years. Brenham and his
wife, Lillian, currently live in the Austin, Texas area. Currently he is a
reserve deputy sheriff with the Bee County Sheriff's Office in Beeville, Texas.
He also volunteers free legal services for veterans in Austin through the
Austin Bar Association's Veterans Legal clinics.
Without further ado, lets us begin. …
SJ) You were a policeman then became a lawyer and now a
writer. What made you become an author? Did you always have an interest in
writing or was it something you fell into?
Alan - After so many years of writing reports as a police
officer and drafting pleadings and briefs as an attorney, not writing seemed
unnatural. Besides, I loved reading crime novels so, after retiring from being
a state attorney and, at my wife’s urging, I began writing novels.
SJ) Of the two books you’ve written, which one was your
favorite to write and why?
Alan - Cornered was my favorite because it’s set in the city
where I worked as a police officer. Doing the research and scouting the various
settings brought back a truckload of memories from those days. Also, it put me
back in touch with some of my former police colleagues, one of whom is now the
Chief there.
SJ) You’ve led such an interesting life in law and law
enforcement. What was your inspiration for Cornered? Can you tell us a little bit of how the idea
came about for it?
Alan - The idea was two-fold. First, I wanted to write a
story about the agency where I used to work - Temple Police. Second, I’d read
about and was familiar with actual stories about the trafficking of females
from both a law enforcement perspective and from cases as a prosecutor and
defense attorney.
SJ) What do you love most about being a writer? Least?
Alan - Character creation is probably the one thing I love
the most about writing. The least favorite thing has been promoting the books.
SJ) What writer inspired you most and how?
Alan - Actually it’s a draw between Michael McGarrity and
James Hayman. Both are crime mystery/thriller authors. McGarrity’s books
contain the best setting descriptions I’ve ever read. Hayman does an
outstanding job with character creation and building suspense. Both men have
counseled me on various aspects of being an author.
SJ) If you could give just one piece of important writing
advice to an aspiring writer, what would it be?
Alan - The most important piece of advice I can think of
giving is for an aspiring writer to read a lot of other authors in his/her
genre to see how they do it.
SJ) What is a favorite book you enjoyed reading and would
recommend without hesitation? Why?
Alan - David Baldacci’s Total Control was one of my favorite
books from a suspense viewpoint. His story build-up was fairly quick and
continuous. It was also one of the first crime thrillers I ever read.
SJ) In closing, will you tell us about your latest projects
Gone Wrong and Behind Closed Doors? We’d love to hear about it.
Alan - Gone Wrong and Behind Closed Doors will be my first
foray into the mystery genre.
Gone Wrong will be set in Fort Worth, a city where I
practiced criminal defense. The protagonist, an assistant district attorney,
learns the hard way that everything isn’t as it seems.
Behind Closed Doors will be a sequel to Cornered. In it,
Detective Brady’s childhood past plays a major role in the “why” for the crime
he investigates. It’s a past he had hoped would never re-surface.
Cornered is Alan's latest book released by Black Opal Books in July 2014: Here's the synopsis:
Detective Matt Brady struggles to solve the
disappearances of seven young women, but he quickly finds himself pitted
against a criminal organization that knows as much about police procedure as he
does. His troubles are compounded when a young veterinarian injects herself
into the investigation and is targeted to become victim number eight. When he
tries to protect her, he finds himself in the crosshairs of a professional cop
killer.
Available in both Kindle and paperback, here are the purchase links:
And to introduce you to this story, here is a brief excerpt:
And with that, we must bring this blog post to a close. Thank you, Alan for your time and allowing me to take some
time out of your busy schedule and interview you about your writing. Readers, thank you for visiting. Please forward this onto others and don't be shy about leaving a comment. I'm sure Alan will love to hear from you. You can
learn more about Alan and his writing projects and news on his website at:
Until next month...every one please stay safe. Smile. Be happy. Show compassion. Be nice to others. Put a little love into your heart.
Regards,
S. J. Francis
Advocate for the underdog, and cat, et al.
In Shattered Lies: "It's All About Family." Coming in 2015 from Black Opal Books.
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