Why did you
start to write?
I have always had
my nose in books. When I was a kid, I read everything from Dr. Suess to the
Hardy Boys, to the adventures of Huck and Tom. The images created for me were
magic. Stories have always taken me to new places and on great adventures. This
inspired me to create my own stories. It just seems like a natural
progression.
When did you
start to write?
I drafted a novel
when I was about sixteen and kept the longhand pages in a shoebox under the bed.
I wasn’t serious enough back then and never took it past the shoebox stage, but
I always felt I’d come back to writing one day.
How did you
become an author?
Five years ago, my
wife convinced me it was time to close my graphics business and start writing
full time. I guess she’d heard me say it often enough, that one day I would
write. So, that’s what I did.
What was your
first published piece? Where was it published?
I polished a short story I started about twenty years earlier.
It’s called Early
Monday and was published
at Joyful! It’s a story of a man coming to terms with raising his young
son alone. Next up, I wrote one called Bottom of the Ninth. It’s about a cheating wife who fakes her own kidnapping and a
husband who doesn’t want her back. It was published in
One Cool
Word. Getting those
early pieces published was very encouraging.
How often and
when do you write?
I write every day.
I start early and write till about noon, often returning to it in the afternoon
or early evening. Mornings are generally best for me, I’m more focused and
energetic then.
Reflect on your
writing process.
I start with a
spark of an idea that intrigues me. Sometimes it’s based on something I read,
heard or experienced, other times it’s just from my imagination. For me, there
has to be some element of humor to the story. From there, I do whatever research
is needed and check facts. Then, I draft a very basic plot outline and develop
my characters and just start writing, letting the characters drive the story.
After a first draft, I go back and edit, adding depth and taking out anything
that didn’t work. I might edit a couple more times until I feel it’s ready to
send out.
What did you do
before embarking on your writing career? Was it an asset to your writing?
I was a commercial
artist for many years, so coming up with concepts and ideas is nothing new. That
work also required a strong visual sense, and now, I’m creating pictures with
words; so, yes, all of it has certainly been an asset.
What inspires
you?
Reading something I
can’t put down. As far as crime fiction goes, greats like Leonard, Ellroy and
Higgins are always inspiring and always worth more than a single
read.
Parting
words
Well, I plan to
keep on writing and having fun with it. And lastly, I want to thank you for
inviting me to be your guest, Leanne. All the best.
(Thank you, Dieter. I enjoyed reading about your author journey.)
Ride the
Lightning
Seattle bounty hunter Karl Morgen goes after Miro Knotts on a
skipped bond, finding the dope dealer wrapped around an underaged girl at a
rave. Dragging Miro in the hard way gets Karl’s license revoked and Miro off
with only a suspended sentence.
Finished in Seattle, Karl finds work as a process server up in
Vancouver. To Karl, it seems the kind of place where people settle things with
middle fingers instead of guns, the kind of place a guy could get used to. But
he soon finds out otherwise.
After ducking a drug sweep by escaping north of the border, Miro
seizes an opportunity to settle his score with Karl. And Karl finds himself
immersed in the city’s underbelly of two-bit criminals, drug dealers and
gangsters, eager for another crack at the scumbag who had his license
revoked.
“Dietrich Kalteis
will be deservedly compared to Elmore Leonard, but he is an original voice.
Ride the
Lightning is a great story
filled with wonderfully flawed characters.”
– John McFetridge, author of Dirty Sweet and Black
Rock.
“…it sustains a breakneck pace without sacrificing character to
action, or action to character. Kalteis made me care about his cast of lowlifes,
screw-ups and marginals.”
– Peter Rozovsky, Detectives Beyond Borders
Dietrich Kalteis's short stories have been
widely published, and his screenplay Between Jobs was a finalist in the 2003 Los Angeles Screenplay Festival.
Visit him at: http://dietrichkalteis.blogspot.ca
