The Johnny Denovo Mysteries

Backword Books

Christopher Meeks, author of “The Brightest Moon of the Century” and a member of Backword Books, interviewed me recently about the Johnny Denovo mystery series, the writing process, the concepts behind the books, and other matters of interest to readers and writers. Here’s a brief excerpt:

CHRISTOPHER MEEKS: Your third book is due early next year. What are you discovering about your continuing characters as the series evolves? Do you have plans for any novels outside of this series?

ANDREW KENT: Well, Mona and Johnny have a relationship that’s getting more intense. That’s nice. I had them hook up early since I didn’t want the titillation of “will they or won’t they.” That’s overdone. They’re adults, so they will. Mona’s also not a helpless female, and she’s rather mighty in the third book, I’m finding. She’s getting the hang of the detective shtick. Other characters are developing or coming forward as needs arise, and other relationships are forming. Also, in the third book, the almost telepathic friendship Johnny and Tucker share gets tested. That’s fun.

I have ideas for other books, one in the fantasy genre and one non-fiction. I have initial outlines for the first, and about half an unstructured book for the second. But right now, I’m focused on finishing this little trilogy of Denovo mysteries. Oh, and I have an outline for a prequel for Johnny, a book about the case that changed his life. It’s pretty cool, so I might write that someday, too.

You can read the entire interview here.

In addition, you can enter a contest to win two books — a copy of “Spam & Eggs: A Johnny Denovo Mystery” and one of “The Green Monster: A Johnny Denovo Mystery” — just by guessing which Dr. Seuss book was my favorite as a kid. The contest ends Friday, November 13th. I hope your luck lasts through that ominous date.

UPDATE: A winner emerged Tuesday night, with the correct guess of “Fox in Socks” netting the successful reader two new books — “Spam & Eggs: A Johnny Denovo Mystery” and “The Green Monster: A Johnny Denovo Mystery.” Congratulations!