by Lorie Ham

Today at the Café we have with us suspense novelist Peter Rennebohm whose latest book is BLUE SPRINGS. Peter’s new book, BURIED LIE, will be released in September of 2008. Grab a mocha and join us for another great guest.

Café:
Tell us about your book.

Peter:
BLUE SPRINGS is a suspense novel ... the story of an eleven-year old boy who runs from his home and drunken father in Minneapolis in 1955. He takes his beloved Golden Retriever, Taffy, and sets out on a harrowing, terror-filled journey. Two separate, but equally evil characters pursue the boy across the prairies of Western Minnesota. intent on either killing the boy or stealing a valuable prize in his possession. Charlie Nash meets up with an old gentleman traveling home to Blue Springs, South Dakota to make peace with his son. Quill and Charlie become fast friends, and together face the evil that has tracked the young boy and his dog. In the end, the story is one of friendship, trust, and ultimately ... reconciliation.

Café:
How long have you been writing?

Peter:
I've been writing for eight years.

Café:
When did your first book come out?

Peter:
First novel was FRENCH CREEK ... published in 2004. A thriller that is very fast paced and full of memorable, albeit very bad, characters. A salesman stumbles into a sprawling junkyard in Western Minnesota looking for a truck part and finds much, much more than he ever could have imagined. Locked within the electric fence surrounding the property, John Rule must somehow survive a frigid February night as he is set upon by a pack of guard dogs. Why is he there? Who is responsible? What do they want? Rule has no idea ... his only thought is to survive the night.

Café:
When did you first begin writing?

Peter:
I started out writing a story titled GRAMPA & LILLY. It was based on my experience taking care of my three-month old granddaughter for nine months — it was never published. FRENCH CREEK was next but truthfully, the first draft was so bad I hid it in a drawer in shame. I decided I needed to know more about the craft of writing, so I studied and took a few courses, then began writing short stories. I was very fortunate to have a number of them published and even won a few awards. Then I went back and resurrected FRENCH CREEK.

Café:
What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your latest book? Tell us a little about the setting and main character.

Peter:
The young boy in BLUE SPRINGS could have easily been me. Quill Purdue represents the kind of father or grandfather I wished I had as a boy. The bad guys, Virgil Pisant and LaBette are an amalgam of everything bad and evil I could conjure up. The setting is the prairies of Western Minnesota and South Dakota ... an area I love to think about and have traveled in extensively.

Café:
What is the main reason you write?

Peter:
I write to entertain ... to tell a memorable story, I guess.

Café:
Do you have a schedule for your writing or just write whenever you can?

Peter:
These days, most of my writing takes place in the winter — at least the first draft. Then it's a few months of rewrites and revisions. I generally write in the morning and as I'm fairly compulsive, once I start, I just keep going.

Café:
Yet another morning person. Do you outline?

Peter:
I did write an outline for my latest suspense novel but only because my agent requested it. On my previous books, I did not outline — much prefer to just start writing and see where it takes me. Faulkner said that writing a novel is like traveling cross country in the dark. It is all of that, and more. But, that's the fun part for me ... not knowing how it's going to end and just kind of going along for the ride.

Café:
What is your ideal time to write?

Peter:
Mornings are best for me.

Café:
Do you have a day job?

Peter:
I retired in 2002. Much of my time is spent coaching a boys hockey team in the winter and also helping coach girls tennis in the late summer and fall. I manage to stay pretty busy.

Café:
I love hockey. Did you find it difficult to get published?

Peter:
Getting published? Yes, of course. It's very difficult.

Café:
Do you have a great rejection/critique or acceptance story you’d like to share?

Peter:
Hmmm. when I sent the manuscript for French Creek to a freelance editor for her critique, she sent back a six page epistle that began with, "You have the core of a very good thriller. However ... " The balance was filled with very cutting criticism of the manuscript. In short, she really ripped the story apart. I was devastated. Now, however, I have a much less sensitive reaction to constructive comment. Personal bookstore visits and in person signings.

Café:
What kind of promotion do you find most effective?

Peter:
Personal visits to bookstores and chatting with managers and staff. I've not been very successful with other types of media pr. Scared stiff of ever having to be interviewed on radio or tv, I've not even attempted to market myself in this way.

Café:
Most interesting book signing story-in a bookstore or other venue?

Peter:
I was invited to appear at a small coffee shop in Central Wisconsin a while back. Assured that an appearance by a published author was sure to attract local attention and the event would be well-publicized, I agreed. After a two-and-a-half-hour drive through a snowstorm, I finally located the shop, tucked away well removed from the only main highway in the area. I spent three hours in the shop drinking coffee, munching muffins, chatting with the owner and his wife, spent twenty bucks on one of their T-shirts, and sold a total of three books: one to the owners, one to the mother-in-law, and one to the insurance guy next door who stopped in for a cup of Joe. then a long drive back home over icy roads. Hardly worth the effort, but I guess these things are all part of the process.

Café:
I’m sure most of us have stories like that one. Future writing goals?

Peter:
I'd like to have my latest manuscript published by a NY house, but know the odds of that happening are pretty slim. A good crime fiction publisher would suffice.

Café:
Heroes?

Peter:
My wife, Shari- the most unselfish, honest person I know.

Café:
How sweet. Person you would like to meet-dead or alive?

Peter:
Bud Grant, former coach, Minnesota Vikings Football.

Café:
What do you read?

Peter:
Crime fiction by authors, Lee Child, Thomas Perry, Carl Hiaasen. Non-fiction books dealing with nature, outdoor adventure.

Café:
We have an interview with Lee Child here at the Café. Hobbies?

Peter:
Golf, coaching tennis and youth hockey.

Café:
Favorite TV or movies?

Peter:
Seinfeld, Dances With Wolves, Saving Private Ryan.

Café:
Any pets?

Peter:
I've had many golden Retrievers ever since I was a kid, and currently eleven-year old Jack travels with me constantly. Don't like cats much, but I've never had one either so maybe I'm not being fair.

Café:
Family?

Peter:
Wife Shari of 43 years, daughters Emily and Jennifer, and six grandchildren.

Café:
What part of the country do you live in?

Peter:
We live on a hobby farm/orchard in a suburb west of Minneapolis.

Café:
Any advice for aspiring writers?

Peter:
Sounds like a cliché, but read your genre and write constantly. Best book I have found about writing was Steven King's "On Writing."

Café:
Always good advice. Website?

Peter:
Feel free to visit www.prennebohm.com.

Café:
Where can your books be purchased?

Peter:
Books can be purchased from Once Upon A Crime Mystery bookstore in Minneapolis (www.onceuponacrimebooks.com), Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Borders Books, Walden Books.

Café:
Thanks so much for being with us here at the Café. Happy Reading.

©2008 Lorie Ham. All rights reserved.