Interview With Michael Haskins by Jacqueline Seewald

If you happen to visit Key West, Florida, you’ll want to visit the house once occupied by Ernest Hemingway. You might even run into him on the street. But wait, Hemingway is dead! The man you meet is likely to be near Hemingway double Michael Haskins who writes exciting “guy” novels.

Michael Haskins came to Key West fifteen years ago to be the business editor/writer for the daily Key West Citizen. After five years he left to become the city’s public information officer. Since 2008, he freelances for Reuters News out of Miami while he continues to writer his Mick Murphy Key West Mystery series. Michael grew older outside Boston, and has lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Los Angeles and spent many summers in Tijuana, Mexico before moving to Key West. His latest novel, published this month by Five Star/Gale in hardcover, CAR WASH BLUES, garnered a favorable review in LIBRARY JOURNAL.

Question: What is the genre of your novel?  Why did you select it?

Answer:  I think of myself as a mystery writer, but am told my stories fall under thriller too. I am a member of both the Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers.

Question:  Could you tell us a little bit about the heroine and/or hero of your latest novel?

Answer:  Car Wash Blues is my sixth in the series and I wanted to bring Mick Murphy’s past to him, but I also wanted a conflict between Murphy and his black-bag friend Norm Burke. I did this by having Norm use Murphy to draw out a Tijuana, Mexico, drug cartel.

Question:   Can you tell us about some of your other published novels?

Answer:   The first two, Revenge and Tijuana Weekend take place on the West Coast. The other four take place in Key West, Florida. It is a series, so many of the characters return in each book. In the Key West books, I draw on real people and places to add a touch of realism to the stories. Now bars, restaurants and friends ask about being in the next book.

Question:   What are you working on now?

Answer:  I am half-way through Key West Latitude (working title) and it is a lot darker than my previous books. So dark, as a matter of fact, the section one is told in Norm’s voice because Murphy has gone over the edge after what happened in Stairway to the Bottom. Section two will be in Murphy’s voice. Also, unlike the previous Key West books, this one opens in Ft. Lauderdale, goes to Tampico, Mexico and Baton Rouge, before getting to Key West.

Question:   What made you start writing?

Answer:  It all began in the last years of high school when I got hooked on Hemingway’s short stories, then his life and I wanted to writer and have chased the dream ever since.

Question:   What advice would you offer to those who are currently writing novels?

Answer: Read. Reading is a very important part of learning to write. Of course, you need to write daily and become good at self-editing afterward. Read the type of books you want to writer and spend time understanding what impresses you in those books and then try to do it better in your story.

Question:  Where and when will readers be able to obtain your novel?

Answer:  All my current books are on Amazon and Kindle. Car Wash Blues will be available on Amazon, now for pre ordering but not Kindle for at least a year. Trade paperback copies of my books can also be ordered from Amazon via my website, www.michaelhaskins.net

If you like mystery thrillers with lots of atmosphere, check out Michael’s books! Comments and discussion welcome here.