From The Booking Desk:

Bryon Quertermous has appeared on BOLO Books previously with several guest posts and I have reviewed several of his books and stories, so hopefully his name is familiar to you already. As an author, I have no idea where Bryon finds the time to read as much as he does, but I can always count on him for solid reading recommendations. If you travel in the crime fiction social media world, you have no doubt seen Bryon chime in on a topic of two. I will say, always buried under his comments and concerns, there is always a good heart, a level head, and a well-intentioned hope that the community can be/can do better. I always know that with Bryon, I am going to get an honest, unvarnished opinion…and one that will often make me smile. Let’s see how he tackles our weekly questions.

Name: Bryon Quertermous
Location: Canton, Michigan

This person from my personal life is such an inspiration:

My wife Becky is amazing. When we first met, she was a kickboxer considering moving to Ohio to pursue cage fighting because it was illegal in Michigan. She is the exact missing puzzle piece to my life. People often wonder why a writer who loves to read is married to someone who isn’t artistic at all and who has only read small pieces of my work, but it works for us. I get all of the book buying money in the house and she’s a great person to work with my son who is a reluctant reader with some reading disabilities. She is also amazing at grounding me and I’m good at challenging her. When I run ideas by her and try to work plots out with her in the car, she can point out where things don’t work that are in my blind spot from reading so much crime fiction.

One of the people I admire most in the crime fiction community is:

This may shock some people, since our online feud is legendary, but I respect the hell out of Laura Lippman. She came of age, so to speak, professionally in the same class as Dennis Lehane, Harlan Coben, and Steve Hamilton and I think they have all gotten more acclaim than Laura, even though she does everything they do and many times does it better. From a career strategy point of view, she has managed to maintain the type of thriving, but stable career in traditional publishing that many thought was no longer possible. And it’s not accidental. She works hard to write what she wants while still factoring in marketing and audience factors. At a time in her career when many other authors begin coasting on their reputation, she continues to challenge herself and rethink her career every year. That is hard for any author, but for a woman, it’s even harder, and for a woman married to a famous television writer it’s harder still. So I think any author at any stage of their career and involved in any method of publishing can learn a lot from Laura. Just ignore her food advice.

STALKER ALERT! If this fictional character were real, they would likely need to get a restraining order against me:

I get REALLY absorbed with the characters in books when I’m reading, so this is always a danger for me, but I would love to spy on the Spellman family from Lisa Lutz‘s great series. You know they don’t include everything in those case reports and Izzy is definitely hiding some juicy stuff.

People are always surprised that I am a fan of this individual (singer, actor, or artist):

I’m one of those people with such wildly divergent tastes and interest that nothing seems to shock people when I tell them. Musical theater? Sure. Metallica? Sure. Weird indie cinema? Why not? I think though, my support for James Patterson has been the most questioned. Unfortunately, many well-meaning people in the literary community, and the crime fiction community especially, see him and his model as the downfall of literature rather than seeing him as someone who helps prop up the finances of publishing with his book sales so they publish other authors we love as well as someone who gives a lot of money to support independent book store and literacy efforts.

My personal catch phrase is (or should be):

No, seriously.