From the Booking Desk:
Like so many members of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Alan Orloff is relatively local to me, so I get to see him fairly regularly throughout the year. He is always a delight to chat with and he is an excellent writer of both novels and short stories. And still, as with all of these composite sketches, new insights are discovered from his answers to our standard questions. Let’s dive in and see what he revealed:
Name: Alan Orloff
Location: Northern VA
This person from my personal life is such an inspiration:
My father. He was an ex-English teacher and school administrator, and he worked hard to support our family, always teaching us (his kids) how to Do the Right Thing, by example. He passed away before I had any fiction published, but I know how proud he would be of my writing career (Very!).
One of the people I admire most in the crime fiction community is:
One? Seriously, one? Okay, if I have to choose one, I’ll pick Hank Phillippi Ryan. There’s not a more supportive writer/cheerleader out there. She’ll do anything to help another writer with their career, or to make them look good (she’s a dream moderator!). She works tirelessly for the crime fiction community, both in front of the proverbial camera (and literal camera—she’s won like 300 Emmys) as well as behind-the-scenes, too.
STALKER ALERT! If this fictional character were real, they would likely need to get a restraining order against me:
I’m a big Lee Child/Jack Reacher fan, so I’d probably try to stalk him (Reacher, not Child). I don’t think he’d need a restraining order, though. If he just glared at me and flexed his ham-sized fists, I’d turn and run. Of course, I’m talking about Book Reacher, not Movie Reacher. Oh, who am I kidding? If Movie Reacher came at me, I’d scram, too.
People are always surprised that I am a fan of this individual (singer, actor, or artist):
My wife and I wanted the first song at our wedding to be In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly. For some strange reason, the band refused. So, yeah, I like drugged out 1960’s music. But I also like Neil Diamond, so go figure. And Dr. Seuss, too.
My personal catch phrase is (or should be):
Well, I try to always Do the Right Thing, but I really should attribute that to my father (or maybe Spike Lee). My catch phrase would probably be: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Sometimes, I’m not so good with the details, so I tend to gloss right over them. But everything seems to (usually) work out in the end.
It seems like we have similar taste in music, Alan. Who knew? Like Kristopher said, you always find out something new in these.
Very interesting as always. The little bit I’ve chatted with Alan has been fun. Stupid distance!
Thanks for having me, Kristopher! And thanks for commenting, Sherry and Mark!
Oh! My heavenly goodness. (Or gaspy something like that.) Here I am, lah dee dah, reading the Composite Sketch, as I always do, and what do I see? Alan, you are such a rock star. Thank you. You bring tears to my eyes. Aw. Thank you!
Well, I do write fiction but this is all true, Hank!