Interview with L.D. Beyer, author of An Eye For An Eye

An Eye for an Eye

Inside the Book:

An Eye for and Eye
Title: An Eye for an Eye 
Author: L.D. Beyer 
Release Date: January 15, 2016 
Publisher: Old Stone Mill Publishing 
Genre: Military 
Format: Ebook/Paperback
   

A powerful drug lord threatens to bring America to its knees. Only one man can stop him.

Two years ago, Secret Service Agent Matthew Richter faced the most difficult decision of his life, knowing that by saving the former, the latter would die. In the aftermath, he fled Washington and the agency that failed him. With wounds he’s certain will never heal, he seeks refuge behind a gun as the commander of an FBI SWAT team in New York. After a raid turns sour and Richter is sidelined, possibly for good, he is reluctantly drawn back to Washington by the man he once saved.

When drug cartels threaten to topple the Mexican government and the violence begins to spill across the border, Richter tells President David Kendall it’s time to take off the gloves. One by one, cartel warehouses and tunnels are raided and their drug caches destroyed. One by one, their sprawling compounds and bank accounts are seized. One by one, drug lords are targeted and killed. One by one—all except, that is, for Pablo Guerrero, the ruthless head of the Sangre Negras cartel, who has only grown stronger as others have fallen.

When the hunt for Guerrero finally draws first blood, he unleashes a war no one is prepared for. Now Richter must stop him before it’s too late.

An Eye For An Eye is the action-packed sequel to In Sheep’s Clothing, L.D. Beyer’s gripping debut novel.

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THE INTERVIEW

Q: Please tell us about An Eye For An Eye, and what inspired you to write it.
A: I write what I like to read.  I love thriller and suspense novels--medical thrillers, legal thrillers, historic thrillers, political thrillers—particularly ones that are full of intrigue and ones with a lot of action & adventure.  Brad Meltzer, Vince Flynn, Steve Berry, David Baldacci, Brad Thor—these are some of my favorite writers and they are a great source of inspiration.  When I read, I want to escape and to live vicariously through the characters, even if only for a short while.  I want to root for the good guy and hate the bad guy.  And if the tension is just right, I keep turning the pages because I need to know what happens next.  This is the journey I hope to take readers on with my books!
My newest release, my second book actually, is a political thriller titled An Eye For and Eye. This is the second book in the Matthew Richter Series and is the sequel to In Sheep’s Clothing. When the U.S. finally takes off the gloves, one by one, Mexican drugs lords start falling. Soon, Pablo Guerrero, a ruthless kingpin known as El Ocho, is the only man left standing. But when the hunt for Guerrero finally draws first blood, he unleashes a war no one is prepared for. Now former Secret Service Agent Mathew Richter must stop him before it’s too late.

Q: What themes do you explore in An Eye For An Eye?
A: This is the story of two men. For one, it’s the story of his quest to make sense of traumatic events in his past and to find peace. And for the other, it’s the story of his quest for power and control; but when the one thing he values above else is stolen from him, it’s a story of revenge. 

Q: Why do you write?
A: Most of my career has been spent in some fairly black and white fields.  Finance, and earlier on, accounting—these are fields that typically do not reward creativity.  Writing is what I do to find balance in my life.  It’s a right brain, left brain thing.
Writing is cathartic and the journey of writing is its own reward.  It’s really cool to start with a blank page and watch as the story develops and takes shape and as a character’s personality crystalizes over time.  While it’s a great feeling to complete a novel, the journey of writing is rewarding in and of itself.  Through the research I do, I learn many things I didn’t know, I meet many interesting people and I can see my writing style becoming more refined along the way.

Q: How picky are you with language?
A: It depends.  Dialogue should be real and people rarely use proper English when speaking.  So I’m not hung up on language conventions in writing dialogue.  At the same time, though, descriptions of scenes need to evoke images in the reader’s mind, so language is crucial for this.  I keep Dictionary.com book-marked in my search engine and the app is on my phone.  When I’m writing, I’m constantly checking meanings, looking for the right synonym, and trying to find a better way to convey a particular thought.

Q: When you write, do you sometimes feel as though you were being manipulated from afar?
A: It’s funny that you mention this.  I was discussing this very thing with another writer last night.  It’s really cool to start with a blank page and watch as the story unfolds, sometimes taking twists and turns I never expected. Even the characters tend to develop and evolve on their own.  After giving them a nudge, they tend to go in directions I never envisioned when I first began typing. I know that sounds like I’m merely a play-by-play reporter, sitting on the sidelines and describing the action as it happens before me.  It’s not quite that remote but the story does tend to take on a life of its own. 

Q: What is your worst time as a writer?
A: Frankly, when life—my day job, family priorities—gets in the way.  Sometimes it’s tough to carve out the time to write and to make meaningful progress.  But these things tend to ebb and flow so I’m learning patience.

Q: Your best?
A: There is no better feeling than when I complete a novel, when I write that last sentence.  It’s the culmination of a journey and I’ve just crossed the finish line.  This is the point where I have something I can finally share with my early readers—my trusted confidants who do the initial editing and provide initial thoughts on the story.  In reality, the journey isn’t quite over, because there’s still a lot of work to do on the editing front.  But a big part of the creative journey is over.

Q: Is there anything that would stop you from writing?
A: My family is my number one priority.  So it would have to be something dramatic with my family that would force me to give up writing.  But I can’t see myself giving it up completely.  I can always put it to the side for a while and pick it up later.

Q: What’s the happiest moment you’ve lived as an author?
A: My happiest moment was a few weeks ago!  I had no idea what to expect when I released my first book.  Everything I read on writing and publishing told me it takes time to build an audience. But in March of this year, just 6 months after I launched, In Sheep’s Clothing reached the #1 spot on 3 separate Amazon Best Seller Lists! It’s ranked right up there with books by Vince Flynn and David Baldacci!

Q: Is writing an obsession to you?
A: No, I wouldn’t say that.  Writing is something I do because it’s pleasurable.  On the weekends, I enjoy cooking.  I enjoy finding a new recipe, or checking to see what we have in the fridge and whipping something up.  There’s something cathartic about the creative pursuit.  While the end game—writing that last sentence or coming up with a dish that my family has never tried before—is definitely the best part, the journey itself is also pleasurable.

Q: Are the stories you create connected with you in some way?
A: Indirectly they are.  To one degree or another, we are all a product of our environment. I am an avid reader of thriller and suspense novels from authors like David Baldacci, Steve Berry, Michael Connolly, Mike Lawson and Brad Thor.  I’m certain my writing is influenced by these and many other fine authors. But in many subtle ways, it is also influenced by my own experiences: the places I’ve lived, the events that took place, both in the broader world and in my own back yard.  From a scene perspective, I tend to write about locations that I’ve been in, places I’ve lived, and cities I’ve visited.  I’ve lived in over a dozen different cities and I’ve lived through many historic moments going back to the racial tensions and turmoil of the 60’s, the Viet Nam war, the Kent State shooting, Watergate, the attempted assassinations of two presidents—Ford and Reagan—the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, a rash of kidnappings, hijackings and terrorist attacks, rapid advances in technology…all of this was happening around me and I’m sure it has influenced my writing. 

Q: Ray Bradbury once said, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” Do you agree?
A: I’m not sure I see it that way.  I write because it’s pleasurable, because the journey itself is its own reward.  But there may be another distinction between how Ray Bradbury and I see the world.  Ray Bradbury writes science fiction.  With no disrespect to Mr. Bradbury or to science fiction fans—I enjoy picking up a good science fiction novel now and then—I write about things that are perhaps a bit more plausible.  I don’t see writing as an escape from the world—I see it as a way of trying to make sense out of the world around me.

Q: Where are your books available?
A: Right now, only available on Amazon. 

Q: What are you currently working on?
I launched my first book, In Sheep’s Clothing, last September, and my second, An Eye For An Eye, in January. These political thrillers are part of the Matthew Richter Series. I do have one more Matthew Richter novel coming out this year. That book is tentatively titled The Deadliest of Sins, and is scheduled to be released in November.
In the meantime, over the summer, I am releasing a historic fiction set in Ireland during the War for Independence (1919-1921).  Branded a terrorist by the government and a traitor by his friends, Frank Kelleher is forced into hiding until he can figure out how to right the wrongs of his past. The story is based on family legend for my grandfather, who served in the Irish Republican Army during the war. The legend I grew up with held that he was forced to flee Ireland below a false passport because of a price on his head by both the British and by the IRA. Like most legends, I think the truth is somewhat less exciting, but it does make for a great story line! This book is titled The Devil’s Due and is scheduled to be released on June 15th.

Q: Do you have a website or blog where readers can find out more about you and your work?
A: I do.  http://ldbeyer.com/
Please come visit and see what else is going on in my world!




Meet the Author:

LDB-portrait1

L.D. Beyer spent over twenty-five years in the corporate world, climbing the proverbial corporate ladder. This meant a lot of time away from his family, extensive travel, a half dozen relocations, and the opportunity to live and work in Mexico for several years. In 2011 he decided it was time for a change—he was tired of moving every few years, he wanted to spend more time with his family and he wanted to chase his dream of being a writer. LD Beyer is an avid reader and although he primarily reads Thrillers, his reading list is somewhat eclectic. He believes a few hours with a good book beats a few hours in front of the TV any day. LD Beyer lives in Michigan with his wife, three children and a dog named Tope (pronounced Toe-Pay), which he adopted in Mexico. He enjoys cooking, hiking, biking, working out and fixing just about anything that breaks in the house. With 3 kids, a dog and an aging house, he always seems to be fixing something!

For More Information

Visit L.D.s website.
Connect with L.D. on Twitter and Facebook