Q: How would you describe the new book? So far you’ve written everything from crime to mystery to romance to grave robbery . . . what are you doing for an encore in Mosquito God?

A: First of all, if you read The Phantom of Forest Lawn, you’ll discover that romance and grave robbery do share some common elements, ha ha.

Mosquito God is different yet again from my other books, even if a few of my favorite themes do recur. It’s at once a rather snarky spy yarn, a heartfelt story of unlikely romance, and a glimpse into the obsessive human need to cling onto our prior (mis)conceptions, even if they’re long past their stale date. Think of Pride and Prejudice, but with Mata Hari and Captain Ahab in the mix.

Q: The Mosquito God is an unusual title. What does that mean?

A: This is a little difficult to answer without revealing any ‘spoilers,’ so for now suffice it to say that it has three—yes, count ‘em, three—meanings in the book. I’ll be interested to learn whether you pick up on all three! And who knows, you may find others, too. 

Readers often find things in my work that I didn’t even know were there, and which certainly were not intentional. That’s the really wonderful thing about reading, I think, or one of them—that each of us brings to a story our own experiences, life history, and worldview. In fact, if I succeed, my my work can be a canvas to which you can add something of your own story. I often like to say that books can take you anywhere you want to go—but good books will take you places you didn’t expect to. I’m going to suggest you might find that true of The Mosquito God.

Q: The cover looks rather ‘Gilded Age glitz’ . . . what’s going on in that little snapshot?

A: The cover depicts a critical moment in the story, one in which our characters come into sharper focus. I don’t mind saying that the two main figures on the cover are Teddy Roosevelt’s crack spies (and contentious former lovers), Hannah Black and Max Bellefonte. 

Max and Hannah have, shall we say, a complicated relationship—and in the scene depicted we begin to understand why that is.