5 Question Friday With Mark Lindquist!

A couple of month's ago, I was spending a lot of time at the County City Building. While waiting for a court room to be available, I waited in the Law Library, where I found a copy of Mark Lindquist's King Of Methlehem. I enjoyed the book and wrote a review of it on my other site.

Also while at the County City Building, I ran into Mark Lindquist himself on a random elevator ride. Mark Lindquist, for those who don't know, is the Prosecutor for Pierce County. He's also a novelist.

This week's 5 Question Friday is with Mark Lindquist. Since I'm betting he gets more questions in interviews about being a prosecutor than a writer, I chose to ask him about his writing. In typical lawyer fashion, his answers were quick and to the point. Enjoy. 1. King of Methlehem includes a lot of real places in Tacoma. How much of the events in the book are based on real events? Less than people think, more than I will admit.

2. Besides your experience in the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office, what other research did you do for your novel, King of Methlehem? Not much, that’s part of the beauty of having the greatest job in the world.

3. Tacoma has been featured not just in 'Methlehem', but in stories by Raymond Carver and others. What do you think makes Tacoma such a great place to write about? Port towns always seem to attract characters and generate stories.  Tacoma has the additional advantage of being small enough that everyone seems to know each other’s stories, and large enough that not everyone is bored with each other.   I love this town, and even appreciate the annoying characters because they add color.

4. Who are some of your favorite authors? Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joan Didion, Bret Easton Ellis, Jay McInerney, Richard Ford, Peter Farrelly, Nick Hornby, Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, Haruki Murakami, the aforementioned Raymond Carver, and many others.

5. What are your plans for your next book? I’m writing a sequel to “The King of Methlehem,” creating a series for Detective Wyatt James.  I have a good title, which is a good start. I'd like to thank Mark for taking time out of his busy schedule to participate in 5 Question Friday and I look forward to his next book.

If you haven't read King of Methlehem, you really should check it out. It's good crime fiction and it's even better if you're a local. Do you know someone you think I should question for 5 Question Friday? Email me at jackcameronis@gmail.com.