Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
The author is a Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of California’s Medical School at Davis, near Sacramento in Northern California. Jerry writes “tweener” mystery books (hard boiled stories that follow the cozy conventions of no graphic sex and no cussing) that are fast moving and entertain the reader, while introducing the readers to a region where he has lived and worked that is a long way from home for most English speakers. He and his wife lived previously in Salta, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay for several months each. Jerry selected the most interesting South American locations he found for Roger and Suzanne to visit while solving miscellaneous murders. Montevideo, Salta, Machu Picchu, the Galapagos Islands, and Iguazu Falls are also characters in these books, and the novels portray these places as vivid and real. The series presently consists of nine books. Jerry and his wife Elaine also breed prize-winning German Shorthaired Pointer dogs.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book, released 12/21/14, is entitled “Unbearably Deadly”. This suspenseful murder mystery is set in Alaska’s Denali National Park. The setting was inspired by our visit to the park during a recent vacation in Alaska. In addition, Roger and Suzanne asked me to let them go somewhere else than South America; they were getting tired of eating beef!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write the first draft from the beginning to the end before I worry very much about editing the book. My stories are plot driven, but usually the story evolves while I’m writing it. I’m often surprised at how the story ends, because I don’t work from a plot outline.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Mostly the classic mystery writers like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Ross MacDonald. More recent authors like Robert B. Parker and James Lee Burke.
What are you working on now?
I’ve just begun the next book in the series, presently untitled. Roger and Suzanne will solve a murder, or a few murders, against the backdrop of canine hunt tests, a venue our dogs are very much engaged in these days. It’s an interesting and highly specialized world most of my readers are probably not familiar with.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I honestly don’t know what works the best. There isn’t any way to know who bought which book and why. I use Facebook, Twitter, and any free book promotion sites I can find. For “The Deadly Dog Show” I also added direct e-mails to all of the American Kennel Club registered breeders and trainers of German Shorthaired Pointers whose addresses I could find on the internet.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The easiest way to learn to do anything is by doing it. Write that book, edit it till you are sick of reading it, get somebody else to read and correct it, and go ahead and publish it as a e-book. Be prepared for the occasional 1-star review your book doesn’t deserve, and remember “the customer is always right.” Keep on writing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
As an author, it would be “Don’t quit you day job!” It would be very difficult to make a living with the only source of income being book sales royalties from e-books.
As a scientist, it would be “Do it right the first time!”
What are you reading now?
A strange little paperback mystery novel entitled “Drown all the dogs” by Thomas Adcock.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Trying to sell the new book while writing the next one. Continuing my day job, including teaching classes and doing research. Thinking of new ideas for the next few books after the hunt test story. Reading a few good books, probably e-books.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I don’t know, but am sure they’d be mystery novels. Maybe some omnibus collections?
Author Websites and Profiles
Jerold Last Website
Jerold Last Amazon Profile
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