| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
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| Q - What happened with Chippewa Publishing? A - They went out of business due to (Lloyd's opinion) poor management and integrity issues. Q- Where can I see you and your band perform? A - I am currently not playing in a band however that is subject to change at any time. Q - How much of you is in the character of Ronan Marino? A - We do share many characteristic including some of our backgrounds, though there are many differences; for instance he had a longer and far more decorated military career than I. I also haven't won the lottery nor have I made bad choice in women. Those who know me well however will definitely be able to spot parts of Ronan that are shared with his creator Q - Why did you pick Lowell for the Ronan Marino books? A - I spent a lot of time in Lowell as a kid and thought it to be a colorful place with it's rich history, ethnic population, large university and proximity to other big cities like Boston. I considered Orlando, FL since I lived there for about six years and was familiar with the area but decided on Lowell. I'm a New England boy at heart and enjoyed writing about the region. Perhaps at some time in the future I'll use Florida for another book. Q - Where did you come up with the name Ronan Marino? A - When I was in the Air Force, I sometimes used the call sign "Ronin" which in Japanese folk lore is a masterless samurai. It's also been a nickname for me at times. I wanted a distinctive name for my hero and felt the name Ronan, which is a traditional Irish name, not only met the distinctive requirement but was a good indicator of his attitude and lifestyle - that of the masterless samurai. His last name Marino was my paternal grandmother's maiden name. We were very close growing up and using this name is a tribute to her and what she meant to me. Q - What process do you use in writing? A - That depends on the story. For my novels, I haven't followed any specific guide. Most of the screenplays I've written however I've tried to adhere closely to Joseph Campbell's "Hero of a Thousand Faces" which is the classic story structure. As for the writing itself, I once tried to outline the book before I started it but found it was a waste of time. When I wrote my second book "Chasing Curves" I had a beginning, middle and end in mind however I just kind of started writing and let it take me in the direction the story needed to go. Q - Who are your idols in writing? A. Hmmm. I'm not sure I'd call them idols but there are two specific writers I read a lot of and emulated. The first is Robert B. Parker, the creator of the "Spenser" series. Ironically, I just got to meet him and he told me his first book was published at age forty-one.....the same age I am. Hopefully that's karmic (and he did tell me that maybe I'll replace him....I'd could only hope to be so lucky!) The second is legendary comics creator Stan Lee. I grew up reading comics (there's another shared characteristic with Ronan...though I rarely read them now) and loved the way he tells a story. I was fortunate enough to meet him a few years back and some of my future planned projects may lean towards his type of works. Q - Why did you mix real with fake locations in "Two Redheads?" A - Because I didn't want my ass to get sued! That's only partially true however. There are certain locations I had to change for story structure. For instance, in the Ronan book there is the "Raven" diner owned by his old friend Jesse. It's based on a real diner in Lowell called "The Owl" and they share some characteristics (including being on the same street) but not all. I wanted to make sure that I could use a regular diner type place in the book with a character like Jesse without being held to the confines of the real location. Many of the other locations, including restaurants, bars, etc. are real. MORE TO COME! |