George A. Bernstein is the
retired President of a Chicago appliance manufacturing company, now living in
south Florida. He spent years attending writing seminars and conferences,
learning to polish his work and developing a strong “voice.” Bernstein is
acclaimed by his peers as a superb wordsmith. He works with professional editors
to ensure his novels meet his own rigorous standards, and all of his books are
currently published by small indie press, GnD Publishing LLC, in which he has
an interest.
Bernstein’s first novel, Trapped,
was a winner in a small Indie publisher’s “Next Great American Novel” contest,
and received high praise, gaining many mostly 5-star reviews at Amazon
(reaching their “Top 100”) and Goodreads. His 2nd novel, A 3rd Time to Die (A paranormal Romantic Suspense)
has also garnered mostly 5-Star & 4-Star reviews, with one reader likening
him to the best, less “spooky” works of Dean Koontz & Stephen King.
The Prom Dress Killer is the third of his Detective Al Warner Suspense series, with the first, Death’s Angel, and the second, Born to
Die, already garnering rave
reviews. Bernstein has the fourth Warner novel already in the works, to be
published in late 2017. Readers have likened Bernstein’s Detective Al Warner to
Patterson’s Alex Cross.
Bernstein is also a
“World-class” fly-fisherman, setting a baker’s dozen IGFA World Records, mostly
on fly-rods, and has published Toothy
Critters Love Flies, the complete book on fly-fishing for pike & musky.
All of Bernstein’s books can be found at: http://suspenseguy.com and http://amazon.com/author/georgeabernstein
INTERVIEW:
Mayra
Calvani: Please tell us about The Prom Dress Killer and what compelled you to write it.
Author: The
Prom Dress Killer is the third of my Detective
Al Warner suspense novels. It was just a natural progression for the series,
and I had this concept of a woman trying to stay alive by telling stories, much
like Shahrazad, in The Thousand and One
Nights. I wanted to continue the Warner series, and this was the next story.
M.C.: What is your book about?
Author: A psychopathic killer lurks in
Miami’s shadows, snatching and murdering young auburn-haired women. Strangely, they are killed
without trauma and left clad in frilly prom-style dresses.
Miami’s crack homicide detective,
Al Warner, is on the case, but the killer has left few clues. Why were these
girls taken and then executed? Was he intent on killing redheads, or was there
some other connection? And why were their bodies so carefully arranged in peaceful repose, wearing prom dresses?
Warner’s hunt for this clever
psycho is stymied by a lack of clues as he desperately searches for the latest
victim. The suspense ramps up when the murderer finally makes one tiny error.
As Warner and the FBI doggedly
zero in on their fleeing prey and his newest captive, the action escalates.
Unlikely players are drawn into a tense, deadly game. As the stunning climax
plays out, Warner is trapped in a classic Catch-22. In order to snare this lethal
psycho, he must make a decision that may haunt him forever.
M.C.: What themes do you explore in The Prom Dress Killer?
Author: The protagonist, Detective Al
Warner, hunts a clever psychopath that leaves no clues as to who he is or why
his is abducting and then killing young auburn-haired women. Warner’s personal
and interpersonal relationships are woven into the story as he tries to balance
his hunt for this elusive madman with his developing and very surprising love
affair.
M.C.: Why do you write?
Author: It was originally suggested by
my wife, Dolores, when I was able to retire relatively early. I’d written
several articles for fishing magazines, and a few short stories, so novels
seemed a logical step. I love telling a good story, using elegant words, and
finding an ending that shocks my readers. I have to admit that every time I
reread the end of Trapped, I still
manage to get choked up. I seem to have an endless imagination ... something
that often got me into hot water as a kid.
M.C.: When do you feel the most creative?
Author: At two different times. I do
most of my writing in the morning, often finding I missed lunch by an hour or
two. And I get many ideas on how to deepen the plot and intensify the tension
at night, while awaiting sleep ... and sometime in the middle on the night,
after I’ve awakened for a “call of nature.”
M.C.: How picky are you with language?
Author: Very. I try to use more
colourful and descriptive words, rather than just tear through a scene. I’m
careful not to repeat words, and can spend many minutes on finding the best way
to describe a scene. It’s a trait I find many authors don’t do enough of. My
unknowing guru for this is Dean Koontz, whom I rate as one of fictions’ top
wordsmiths.
M.C.:
When you write, do you sometimes feel as
though you were being manipulated from afar?
Author: Not from afar, but by the
characters. I outline where I envision my story going, writing a few sentences
for each chapter, but find, once I begin, the characters seem to take over.
They often talk to me at night while I’m awaiting sleep, telling me surprising
things about themselves, and taking me in unexpected directions, doing things I
never imagined and changing in ways I never planned. The villain in The Prom Dress Killer became far more
sinister than I originally conceived that way.
M.C.: What is your worst time as a writer?
Author: Trying to turn from an author
to a publicist. Authors write, but few of us are skilled at getting the
attention our work may deserve.
M.C.: Your best?
Author: Getting a call from the editor
of TAG Publishers, telling me that my novel, Trapped, was selected as the winner of their “Next Great American
Novel” contest. Also, when I get rave reviews from professional reviewers
M.C.: Is there anything that would stop you from
writing?
Author: Only if I became too ill. I
don’t think I’ll ever run out of unique story ideas.
M.C.: What’s the happiest moment
you’ve lived as an author?
Author: Winning TAG’s award, and
meeting people who tell me they read my novel because they know me and they were
“shocked” at how great it was. They often go on and on about how engrossed they
were in the story and how surprised ... and please... they were by the ending.
M.C.: Is writing an obsession to you?
Author: Pretty much. Dolores sometimes
gets upset at how many hours I spend at the computer, writing. I’ve got to make
time to balance family life.
M.C.: Are the stories you create connected with you
in some way?
Author: Only in a sense that I often
create characters from people I’ve known, and I use locals where I’ve lived and
am familiar with the surroundings. Knowledge for the equestrian and Grand Prix
jumping scenes from A 3rd Time
to Die came from Dolores’ experience as a champion rider in Open Jumper
classes in suburban Chicago.
M.C.:
Ray
Bradbury once said, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy
you.” Thoughts?
Author: I guess. Suspense writers tend
to live in another world while writing. Nothing else impinges on that
M.C.:
Do you have a website or blog where
readers can find out more about you and your work?
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