J.C. Martin, Fighter Writer

Here’s another interview I conducted for the Psychological Thriller Readers & Writers group on Goodreads:

Steven Nedelton

Steven Nedelton is an accredited author writing super-suspenseful hits loaded with intrigue. Included in his works are: Crossroads, The Raven Affair, Fear and Tunnel / The Lost Diary.

Presently, he is working on his next book/thriller COMA Sins / The Underworld of Ben Bluman with his friend and writer Joseph Parente.

During the late fifties, he lived in Paris and London for three years. His familiarity with French customs and people are reflected in the Crossroads thriller (originally Secrets of the House on Liberty Street).

Suspense, action and extrasensory perception are his favorite genres.

In his undergraduate program, Steven received top marks in English Literature and Advanced Creative Writing, a graduate English Literature course. He holds a MSME from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (NYU-Poly). He is a Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio.

Contact: Website 

Who has influenced your writing, and how?

In the past I read almost all the well-known and popular writers–from King, Kuntz and Grisham to Forsyth, LeCarre, Ludlum, Hemingway and even Dostoyevsky. A few years back I read Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk and found his style quite interesting. So, the answer would be–all good writing has influenced me, not just one single writer.

The books I read in the past taught me how to construct and compose my novels, and how to introduce and describe my characters. They also affected my taste in reading and writing, which made me prefer the specific genre I am writing today, namely serious thrillers.

What kind of characters do you most enjoy writing about?

The main plot/idea of all my novels influences my characters. I do not favour any particular type of individual like Raymond Chandler did. All my stories are realistic; thus I do not employ any particular version of a character. I do not write cheap thrillers. I try to write true-to-life stories with true-to-life characters. At the same time, I also try to make them as suspenseful, as mysterious and as thrilling as only a James Bond flick could be. Real life is full of suspense–one just has to find it.

What are the biggest perks about being a writer? What are the biggest drawbacks?

Finishing a book gives one a great thrill of accomplishment. It’s like painting a magnificent picture–when completed, one experiences that euphoric ‘rush,’ which is almost like the effects of a drug.

It takes a while to get one’s books selling, but the effort is justified by the financial sense of accomplishment.

How important do you feel a social platform is to a writer? If you do not have a blog, are you planning on starting one?

I am not sure about that. I believe in being at the source, being close to people who truly like to read. I think blogs could be useful (I have one) but only if coupled with a writer’s successful books. Some people will read almost anything created by their favorite writer, but in order for that to happen, one has to be very well known. Incidentally, being well-known and selling well do not entirely equate to being a good writer. Publishers have often played a major role in making certain writers well-known. Without their intense marketing there would be no “Kings” or “Grishams” around.

What career would you consider apart from writing?

I am an engineer. I liked engineering even when everything associated with it, including politics, was not exactly my ‘cup of tea.’ I did not trust writing as a profession and, when you look at it, only a small percentage of writers became truly financially successful.

QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS

Favorite author?

I like Grisham for his style.

Best writing snack?

Grapes, a banana.

Bath or shower?

Shower.

Disney World or Universal Studios?

Universal Studios.

Seaside or mountains?

Seaside.

—

Here is more information about Steven’s latest novel:

Tunnel / The Lost Diary

It began in an abandoned coal mine tunnel at the end of World War II…

Bendiks (Ben) Kalninsh, a teenage boy, spends his summer afternoons spying on soldiers who gather at the old coal mine tunnel entrance.  His persistence is finally rewarded one afternoon when he sees an officer and two soldiers carry two suitcases into the tunnel.  When the three men depart, he enters the cold and musty darkness hoping to find stolen guns the soldiers left in there. But–he is not alone in the tunnel. What happens next will change the life of his family–though not yet, and not in the country of his birth.

Years later, two older men are viciously murdered in the small community of Forks, Minnesota. The boy, now a man and an up-and-coming sports star, discovers his life is at risk and his father one of the murder victims.

What was in those suitcases that would suddenly put so many lives at risk? He learns of a fortune in stolen gold coins.  Had his father and neighbor been killed because they were listed on the bank documents as co-owners of the contents of the suitcases? Or, because of a diary hidden in one of the suitcases?

How does the FBI know about the suitcases, the missing diary they contained?  Why does neither government care about the gold? What information contained on its pages is so important/secret  that men would be killed for it years later?

All of a sudden, those investigating these incidents are told to cease their activities, even threatened and blackmailed with lies. Or, they simply disappear.  Is one of Hoover’s top men in the FBI involved?

In Tunnel / The Lost Diary, set primarily in the 1960s, Steven Nedelton weaves together a complex story of intrigue that will leave you at the edge of your seat, wondering … “Who can I trust?”

Purchase links

Paperback: Amazon US | Book Depository

E-book: Amazon US | Amazon UK 

Tags: Interview, Steven Nedelton

This entry was posted by J.C. Martin on Thursday, March 1st, 2012 at 9:30 AM and is filed under Interview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.