📚 IN DEPTH ✏
AUTHOR OF ADDICTIVE
LEGAL CRIME THRILLERS
⚖ J. THOMAS GANZER ⚖
How did you get started as an author?
Like most attorneys, I dream of the day when I can do something else. (Kidding, I kid.) I had an idea for a novel running around my head for years. Then I ended with several months and nothing to do on the weekends. So I literally googled “How to write a novel,” did that for a day. Then I spent a day writing the outline, again, I had this idea for years so it wasn’t hard to lay out my vision. Then, Day 3, I threw out the “It was a dark and stormy night,” and I was off and running with Chicago Secrets. Now I am promoting the sequel, Chicago Two-Step.
Why this story? Prostitution, murder, the law.
I loved the idea of a federal prosecutor committing evil acts, and trying to get away with it. But more than that, I love putting characters into a maze. And as soon as they figure a way out, I block that exit, making them more and more desperate. Then I get to see what they do. As an attorney, I see the mistakes criminals make and I wonder, how long could I get away with it? What if I was a prosecutor? So many possibilities.
You talk about the characters like they are independent of you?
I feel like they are, I know what they look like and what motivates them, but when I write, they assume a voice of their own. It is very surreal. And then when I talk to readers and they tell me what they think the characters are doing, their desires, their secrets. I let the characters go and readers make them their own.
What was the hardest part?
Oy, I could paper the Superdome in rejections letters from publishers, agents, you name it. Then I got a publisher, but I have to carry the water for marketing. Writing is the fun part, talking to readers who loved the book is the fun part, but everything else? All I want is a major publisher, a team of editors and proof readers, and a full-staff marketing team and budget. Is that too much to ask?
Is there more coming?
I am almost done with book 3, tentatively called Chicago Checkmate. I want it to be the final chapter, though the characters are fun and it will be hard to let them go. But I need to let them go and start with something new. JK Rowling talked about how she cried when one of her characters went away forever, and I am feeling that sense of dread. Maybe I am dragging my feet because I don’t want them to leave.
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ABOUT J. THOMAS GANZER:
J. Thomas Ganzer is an attorney practicing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has experience in both civil and criminal matters in private practice and at the Wisconsin Department of Justice. He currently practices civil litigation for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Armed with a diverse career, J. Thomas offers his readers a unique perspective on the traditional legal thriller, focusing on the odd characters and constant one-upmanship that lawyers, clerks, and judges know all too well.
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Thanks for visiting my blog, Joe!! Best of luck with your writing as well as your marketing. Don’t I know – getting your books out there can be even more difficult than writing them. tf