Interview With Author Michael Balter
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the award-winning author of the Marty & Bo crime thriller series, which currently includes Chasing Money and The Vatican Deal. My debut novel, Chasing Money, won five national awards for crime fiction, including Crime Thriller of the Year from BestThrillers.com, the Best Indie Book Award for Crime Thrillers, and a Gold Medal from Reader’s Favorite.I write fast-paced, character-driven crime fiction that places ordinary people in extraordinary danger—where bad decisions have real consequences and survival is never guaranteed. After a long professional career, I began writing full-time in retirement. My life experiences—growing up in postwar Berlin, serving in the military, working in Silicon Valley, launching startups, and spending years in the art world—give me plenty of raw material. I try to bring authenticity, dark humor, and lived experience to every book I write.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Vatican Deal, the second novel in the Marty & Bo series. It’s an international crime thriller packed with danger, deception, and betrayal. In it, Marty Schott and Bo Bishop travel to Italy to close a lucrative deal involving a historic sculpture foundry and a coveted Vatican licensing agreement. When their alluring business partner disappears, the deal turns deadly. They soon find themselves caught between the Naples Mafia, the Vatican Bank, and the ruthless Russian Vory. As betrayals mount and loyalties fracture, they must uncover the truth behind the Vatican deal—or die trying.
The novel was published in May 2025 and won the CIPA EVVY Gold Medal for Thrillers & Suspense.
The inspiration came from my own experiences. In 2004, I was a partner in an art company that bid on the Chiurazzi Foundry in Italy and successfully negotiated a licensing deal with the Vatican. Those years provided fertile ground for storytelling and a colorful backdrop for a thriller.
But I needed a real threat. As it turns out, 2004 was also the year of one of the bloodiest mafia wars in Italy’s history, when more than 160 people were killed in battles between rival Camorra factions. That historical reality gave me the spark I needed. I imagined Marty and Bo, backed by a Russian oligarch, colliding with the Camorra over the foundry—and from there, the story took off.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write seven days a week. Most of that writing happens at Harwood Gold, a coffee shop in the resort town of Charlevoix, Michigan, where I live. I have a perfectly good office at home, but it’s too quiet. I prefer the energy of a coffee shop—the hum of conversation, the clatter of cups, the rhythm of people coming and going.
I usually claim the table closest to the power outlet. Friends often stop by to chat, which I enjoy, but when it’s time to work, they let me focus. If the noise level rises too much, I put in earbuds to soften the sound—but I still like the sense of life happening around me. That atmosphere keeps me creative.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
One of the first thrillers I remember reading was The Word by Irving Wallace. I was serving in Vietnam at the time, and I couldn’t put it down. That experience showed me what a gripping thriller could do.
I’ve read everything Elmore Leonard wrote, and he has had a tremendous influence on my style—especially his sharp dialogue and dark humor. More recently, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series drew me into Nordic Noir, which I’ve come to love, including the Q Department novels. I’m also a big fan of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series. Watching that make the leap to a streaming series is inspiring—I’d love to see Marty and Bo make that journey someday.
What are you working on now?
I recently finished the third book in the Marty & Bo series, which will be released in July 2026. In this novel, Marty and Bo are trying to extricate themselves from a dangerous partnership when a midnight phone call shatters their plans. Bo’s brother-in-law has been murdered, and the detective on the scene immediately recognizes them—he’s questioned them before, and he hasn’t forgotten.
As they dig for answers, they uncover a hidden wire, criminal activity inside one of their own companies, and a killer who isn’t finished. With pressure mounting from both police and criminals, escape becomes a perilous illusion. The title will be announced soon.
Since completing that book, I’ve begun work on a standalone novel with new characters. Marty and Bo will return, but I was ready to stretch myself creatively and explore a different world.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m incredibly fortunate to have my wife, Suzanne, handle my marketing and promotion. She had a highly successful career in technology marketing, and now she says marketing books is much more fun.
She runs Amazon and Facebook ads and coordinates promotions through a wide range of email newsletters, which drive much of my online sales. We also do bookstore signings and literary festivals. And I can’t underestimate the power of simple, in-person connections. Almost every week at the coffee shop where I write, someone asks what I’m working on. Before long, we’re talking about my books—and sometimes they walk down the block to the local bookstore and come back with a copy for me to sign. That never gets old.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stick with it. Write every day. Don’t stop.
I wanted to be a writer when I was young and even started out studying journalism. Someone persuaded me it wasn’t a practical career, so I switched to aerospace engineering, which led to a long and rewarding career in technology. But I always wondered what might have happened if I’d stayed on the writing path.
Later in life, I tried writing several times, but I was always too busy. It wasn’t until I retired that I could fully commit. It took years to write—and rewrite—my first novel, and several more to get it published. My second book required a complete rewrite before it was ready. But each time, I improved.
The more I write, the better I get. That’s the lesson. Writing is a craft. The only way to improve is to keep doing it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I once heard a writer quote another writer who said, “Never start a chapter with the weather.” It’s become almost a cliché—Snoopy’s “It was a dark and stormy night…” comes to mind.
It’s good advice. And yes, I’ve violated it at least twice. But every time I begin a new chapter, that line pops into my head and forces me to think harder about how to start strong. Sometimes the best advice isn’t a rigid rule—it’s a reminder to be intentional.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading Air America as research for my next novel. Part of that story will take place during the Vietnam War at Udorn Air Base in Thailand, where I was stationed as an Air Force air traffic controller. I met several Air America pilots back then and had some wild experiences. Revisiting that world has been both nostalgic and creatively energizing.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to write seven days a week for the rest of my life. Writing gives me purpose. It gives me something fascinating to wake up for every morning.
I have at least three more books planned in the Marty & Bo series after I complete this standalone novel. And beyond that? Who knows. That’s part of the adventure.
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’d bring The Magus, The Great Gatsby, and anything by Elmore Leonard. Those books reward rereading—and on a desert island, I’d have plenty of time for that.
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