The others fit his agenda. But that first victim? Most likely that one’s personal.
A brilliant but oddball football fanatic witnesses a player
die on the gridiron—thanks to an official’s screw-up—and the agony of his
childhood takes over. Weeks later, some part of him is killing football
officials. And Ben Leit is dragged into a road trip search for the anesthetic
killer.
Welcome, Ben. Please take a moment to tell us about Revenge Hit. Man, revenge
isn’t good for the soul, you know? I thought I was done with killing. After
losing Dad, and nearly losing Mimi, the last thing I wanted was hunt down another
killer. But I saw John Brown die, you know? And figuring our sports website
could ID the killer, what else could I do but take on tracking down Beacham.
What made me
choose investigations as a career? Would I change what I do? My football
career went in the toilet after I got knocked out on the playing field—out for
ten minutes. The Giants dumped me and, you know, what career? Logical
thing was for me to shift over to sports commentator and I started doing that.
Not really my thing, but what was I gonna do, sit around?
Then these
threats started rolling in against football officials and security for the
officials came to me for help. Why me? Well, people remember me for catching my
Dad’s killer. I keep telling ‘em I’m not a detective. And Mimi would have a cow
if I started down that road again. But one thing leads to another. And we did
stop Beacham. And, thinking about how things went so wrong for the guy, I think
we’re on to something really worthwhile now.
What is your biggest
fear? I
have a couple more years before my doctors can say whether I’m dying because of
my old head injury. I guess my fear is, either one day I’ll start stumbling and
can’t feed myself —that’s how CTE shows up—or Mimi will end up caretaking me
while I drift off into la-la-land. I try not to go there. I mean, what good
does that do?
Who is your favorite
fictional character? I read history, 1850s to 1870s, so I read a lot about
Lincoln and his cabinet.
What is the best
piece of advice you’ve received? It’s the team, buddy, they’re the ones
make it work.
Thank you for
taking time away from your busy schedule to speak with us, Ben. Now we’d like
to chat with Barbara [aka B Davis Kroon]
Which writer or character[s], from either books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on your writing? Poet Theodore Roethke, for sure for his poetry and sense of the real. Nonfiction writer for his way of making complicated process both accessible and interesting. The BBC series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy – again for that combination of complex plot and grit. And (it surprises me but) I’m reading the Thursday Murder Club series and loving it.
With regard to research, where did you start for this novel? Did that lead you down different paths, thereby changing the original concept? Revenge Hit is book two in the Ben Leit series but the basic plot—a man killing football officials—was my initial idea which hatched one day at a very frustrating football game. Book one, Trap Play, covers the why and how that Ben Leit football hero ends up being an amateur detective and meeting Mimi [Fitzroy]– that story needed to come first. The nature of the killer in Revenge Hit changed radically as I began to think about what was behind that drive to kill.
It seemed to me
it had to be much deeper and more painful than merely winning or losing a
football game. In thinking about that and working to keep some focus on the
risk of head injury in football, Beeker [Beacham] became the sad and ruined
character he is.
Tell us a bit
about your publisher. How did you hear about them; what influenced you to submit
to them; how is the submission process; what is the turn-around time from date
of query to date of release? Revenge Hit is my second
fiction book. Both of my suspense books have been published by The Wild Rose
Press. I’m a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association, which has a
major writers’ conference each year. At that conference, writers have the
opportunity to pitch various agents and editors, either in person or via zoom. I
pitched my manuscript for my first book, Trap Play, to Ally Robertson,
an agent for Wild Rose Press and she asked me to send her the whole manuscript.
During the publisher review process, they asked that I cut one chapter. That
meant a certain amount of rewriting (which I freely admit made the book
stronger). As a newbie in the publishing world, my editing passes took longer
to complete than a more experienced writer might encounter. I sent my full m/s
to them in November, it was accepted (after the change in chapters) and it was
published in March 2020 (yes, right at the crunch of Covid).
What are you
reading right now? The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dianne; The Body, a
Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson; Your Plantation Plam is Not
Okay by Kelly McWilliams and [just finished]: Transplanted by Birgit
Lennertz Sarrimanolis.
What’s next for
you? I
have two books in process and another on a back burner. In process is an
untitled book 3 in the Ben Leit series and is set in San Francisco. The
Truth Of It, a stand-alone women’s
fiction is about how white collar crime ruins a family. On the back burner is
Harmony, a stand-alone mystery where a sweet farm town isn’t as sweet as it
seems.
To learn more
about B. Davis Kroon and the stories she creates go to:
https://www.facebook.com/bdaviskroon
https://www.instagram.com/bdaviskroon/?hl=en
To purchase Revenge Hit, go to:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/revenge-hit-b-davis-kroon/1143898783?ean=9781509249565
https://catalog.wildrosepress.com/bookpage.php?TitleID=17408
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/revenge-hit
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/B_Davis_Kroon_Revenge_Hit?id=5NrbEAAAQBAJ
https://books.apple.com/gb/book/revenge-hit/id6459510661
https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=9781509249565
https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781509249565
The story sounds exciting! Love the plot.
ReplyDeleteLove the interview with Ben. The book sounds compelling. And the titles you're working on also sound great. Looking forward to reading Ben's story. :) Best of luck.
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