A
resident New Yorker, Kelter often uses Manhattan and Long Island as backdrops
for his stories. He is the author of the Stephanie Chalice Mystery Series and
other works of fiction.
Early
in his writing career, he received support from best-selling novelist, Nelson
DeMille, who reviewed his work and actually put pencil to paper to assist in
the editing of the first novel. When completed, DeMille said, “Lawrence Kelter
is an exciting new novelist, who reminds me of an early Robert Ludlum.”
His
novels are quickly paced and feature a twist ending.
At any given time do you work on only one story at a time…
There are always several ideas competing for attention in my
head. In fact, sometimes it’s an effort to concentrate on the one I want to
give priority. At the very least I’m working on two at time, the one I’m
editing and the one I’m newly creating. Some authors only turn out a single
book a year but I usually complete a new novel every four to six months. I also
turn out a couple of short stories each year. Busy, busy, busy.
Is there a genre you haven’t written in but would like to?
I haven’t written any supernatural tales but there’s one
I’ve been toying with for quite a while. I should’ve started on it already but
there just hasn’t been time. It’s based on modern day lore and takes place in
the town where I actually live. In order to do it justice I’d to have to
conduct several interviews and that takes oodles of time.
Do you add an element of romantic suspense to your stories?
You bet I do. Stephanie Chalice may be a cop’s cop but she’s
a woman’s woman first. From the very onset of the series she’s been involved
with her eye candy partner, Gus Lido and they’ve had lots of … fun? In fact
they have “fun” everywhere. Not to worry, they don’t let their romance get in
the way of the cases, they just have lots of libido to deal with and who wants
to waste perfectly good libido. At the same time, Stephanie is madly in lust
with Dr. Nigel Twain, a dark and brooding British psychiatrist who consults on
many of her cases. Stephanie is also plagued by dreams and nightmares. The
amatory Dr. Twain is often the subject of her nocturnal fantasies. It’s kind of
a love triangle, and Stephanie is constantly torn between
her true love and her true lust.
Say you have unlimited funds. What kind of writing
office/cottage would you create for yourself?
I’ve often wished that I had a tropical home much like Ian
Fleming had. I don’t know if you’re familiar with his life but Fleming used to
vacation in Jamaica every winter and had a cottage he named GoldenEye, which is
where the name came from for the 1995 film starring Pierce Brosnan. Fleming
would write in the morning and then go for a swim in the afternoon. I’d love to
have a setup like that, an open-air cottage where I could write while gazing
out at the Caribbean. Who wouldn’t, right?
If you could turn your novel into a TV show…
I’d love that. I can’t tell you how many notes I get from
readers asking when they’ll be able to watch Chalice on TV or the big screen.
I’ve always been a huge fan of visual media and I picture each scene in my head
before I commit it to paper. I see Chalice as a cable project because her cases
most often involve violent crime and I wouldn’t want to candy coat those
scenes. There’s also a lot of sexual tension between her, Lido, and Twain—lots
of innuendo and explicit dialogue. Cable would be a much better choice for that
reason as well.
Lawrence will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to one randomly drawn commenter and 5 autographed copies of the book as runner up prizes (US & Canada only).
Here’s a little bit about Baby Girl Doe, the latest release
in the Stephanie Chalice Series.
Blurb:
Everyone
deserves a well-earned vacation, don’t they?
Guess again!
Plans have been
made and the bags are packed but Detective Stephanie Chalice is having about as
much fun as Michael Vick at an ASPCA fundraiser.
In
his latest thriller, “Baby Girl Doe,” Chalice tackles murder, arson, abduction,
and government secrets held as closely to the vest as those related to the
existence of UFOs at Area 51 in Roswell, New Mexico.
The new
story finds Chalice and her eye candy husband, Lido on the East End of Long
Island, vacationing with Max, their new arrival. Things go wrong from the very
start. Their vacation rental burns to the ground, bodies pile up, and just to
make things interesting, Lido . . . All I’ll say is that you’ll never believe
it.
Chalice
may be out of her jurisdiction but she's never out of questions or
determination and soon connects two unsolved homicides. As always, the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts, and her initial findings plunge her deeper
and deeper into the most extraordinary investigation of her career.
NY
Times best-selling novelist Nelson DeMille actually assisted Kelter in the
editing of his early work, and has said, “Lawrence Kelter is an exciting
novelist, who reminds me of an early Robert Ludlum.”
There
are a total of five books in the Stephanie Chalice Thriller series, which
include Don’t Close Your Eyes, Ransom Beach, The Brain Vault, Our Honored Dead,
and now Baby Girl Doe. The Series has sold hundreds of thousands of copies
worldwide and topped bestseller list in the US and UK. He is originally from
Brooklyn, NY and has not gotten very far from his roots. He currently resides
on Long Island with his wife.
Dramatic
I zigzagged
between the two opposing lanes of traffic as I gave pursuit.
He was in a
flat-out run, but I was not going to be beaten. Not now, not with Gus’ captor
in sight. I reached down deep and found an extra gear, one that I didn’t know
existed. I was running so fast, I felt as if I could take off. I was closing in
on him: two yards behind . . . one . . .
I lunged and
took him down by the ankles. As he attempted to kick free, I pounced upon him,
fists flying. I hauled back and was ready to pummel him when I froze. “You?
It’s you?” The face I was about to strike was one I had seen before, but looked
nothing like the person I had seen on the ladder outside my bedroom window.
This man was the one who told me there was absolutely nothing suspicious about
the fire the day I first inspected the remains of Bill Alden’s cottage. Two
bodies, burnt beyond recognition—now I understood who would use that specific
MO. Dummy, you couldn’t make the connection?
“You son of a
bitch.” I heard the sound of others running toward me, but my fist was
clenched.
“Chalice,
we’ve got him,” Ambler said. “Don’t!”
There was no
force on heaven or earth strong enough to keep me from striking him, this man
who had turned my family’s world upside down and put my husband’s life at risk.
I drove my fist into his jaw and heard it crack. I was ready to hit him again
when someone grabbed my arm. I looked up and saw Gus. His cheek was swollen,
and there was dried blood on his face.
“Thanks,
babe,” he said, “I’ll take it from here.”
Where to Buy: AmazonBarnes and Noble
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