Andy Straka - A Powerful Story of Adversity, Small-Town Politics, and a Search for Truth

The first hint of Andy Straka's future as a mystery writer came at the age of four when he appeared at his small-town neighbor's back door carrying a butcher's knife. Thankfully, the neighbor called Andy's mother instead of social services. Andy is a former college basketball player, a licensed falconer, and a longtime husband and father. His novels include the upcoming SPLIT CITY, the first in a new amateur sleuth mystery series; the #1 bestselling private eye novel A WITNESS ABOVE and Shamus Award-winning Frank Pavlicek series; the techno-thriller trilogy DRAGONFLIES; and the critically-acclaimed suspense thrillers RECORD OF WRONGS and THE BLUE HALLELUJAH. Featured by Publishers Weekly among a group of "rising stars" in crime fiction, Andy is a past finalist for the Agatha Award and the Anthony Award. Rumor also has it that he hails from upstate New York, where he often spent Sunday afternoons, growing up, bowling with his parents and identical twin brother.  As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about his book, Split City.

Please give us a short introduction to what Split City is about.

In SPLIT CITY, murder sees double when former pro-bowler Billy Gills finds himself summoned to the Partridgeberry County morgue to identify the body of his identical twin brother Bo. Billy is the proprietor of Split City Lanes, a classic hometown bowling alley, located in the charmingly rundown, lakeside town of Twin Strikes. Partridgeberry and Twin Strikes are peopled by a hearty band of oddball characters—an unlikely setting for murder. But Bo is the founder of TreadBo, a successful specialty bowling shoe manufacturer; he is famous for his quirky sense of fashion, fitness fanaticism, and unusual hobbies, which may have gotten him into trouble. Not to mention, Billy has some demons of his own to slay. Fortunately, Split City Lanes is also home to "Jesus Spares", a church service, bowling, and social gathering where almost anything can happen. Billy may need every ounce of faith he has to discover the truth about himself and his eccentric twin brother.

What inspired you to write this story? Was there anything that made you want to tackle this?

I was raised in upstate New York, and my parents took my twin brother and me bowling after church many Sundays.

Tell us more about Billy Gills. What makes him tick?

Billy is a reluctant hero who finds himself drawn into solving a murder. He loves bowling, his dog Hercules (he “shares custody” with his ex-girlfriend), his beat-up SUV, and being outdoors. He also has a weakness for the pastries created by the bakery next door to his bowling alley, where he finds himself attracted to the proprietor, Aubrey Brown.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

Basketball (Past college player and youth coach). Falconry.

Why a Christian mystery? What drew you to the genre?

I’ve followed Jesus since my early twenties. He continues to be my source of peace, hope, and inspiration, and when the idea for this new series came up, the Christian genre seemed like a natural fit. That being said, I’m a character-creator and storyteller. My goal with the Jesus Spares series is not to preach about faith but to let the characters and the stories speak for themselves. In that sense, the series fits in both the Christian genre and the Cozy/Amateur Sleuth mystery genres.

Character relationships seem to be very important in this story. Why did you take this approach?

The more novels I write, the more I’m convinced characters form the raw material for the best stories.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Did you plan the entire story out before you started writing, or did some of it just "happen" along the way?

I fall somewhere between these two categories but lean toward the “pantser”.

Readers say this reminds them of Agatha Christie's work. Are you a fan?

Of course, although I don’t consider myself, by any means, an Agatha Christie expert. I tend to read in many different genres.

When starting on a new book, what is the first thing you do?

Create a main character and an inciting plot point, quite often the opening chapter of the book.

What are you working on right now? Currently, I’m working on Split End, the next book in the Jesus Spares series.

I also have four partial manuscripts waiting for me on my computer, including a couple of thrillers, a sci-fi young adult novel, and another Pavlicek novel.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

Readers can receive a never-before-published Pavlicek short story when they visit my website at andystraka.com and sign up for my newsletter. I can also be found on Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.