From Green Eggs to Dark Alleys

What brought me into writing, and what keeps me there?

By Dietrich

Like a lot of us, it started with picture books. From there, I caught on to reading, growing up with the wonderful stories of Dr. Suess and E.B. White. My coming-of-age years brought new books that pulled me in even deeper: The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Outsiders. Then came the great crime writers who inspired me to write: Elmore Leonard, George V. Higgins, James Crumley and Charles Willeford. There was something electric in those pages, and I remember thinking, “Someday, I want to do that.”

When someday finally arrived, I didn’t jump straight into novels. I started with short stories—testing the waters, experimenting with different genres, voices and styles. When the first short was published, I was on Cloud Nine. It felt like I had cracked open a door. So I kept writing, building confidence and finding my way. The shift to crime fiction felt natural enough. I loved the tension and pace, the flawed characters making bad choices, and all those moral gray areas. 

My first novel, Ride the Lightning, came out in 2014, and I was on that cloud again. And the love of telling stories has stayed with me ever since, and it keeps me pulling me back to the blank page.

Every story begins with a spark—an image, a “what if,” or a bit of history that won’t let go. From there, it’s a matter of chasing that spark through the research, false starts, revisions and the slow build until everything finally clicks. 

Since that first crime novel, I’ve found real satisfaction in digging into different eras—like the Dust Bowl for Call Down the Thunder, or life in the Midwest during the bygone days of Dirty Little War. I enjoy putting my own twist on true stories in books like Under an Outlaw Moon and Crooked, exploring the raw power of nature in House of Blazes, and capturing the raw energy of the punk music scene in Zero Avenue. There’s something special about creating characters and selecting the right historical details that bring each world alive as the story unfolds. When it all comes together, it’s the best feeling.

The love of reading has never faded. Over the years, I’ve added many more authors and genres to the mix: James Lee Burke, Toni Morrison, Cormac McCarthy, Harper Lee, and countless others.

But what keeps me coming back most of all is hearing from someone that a book of mine stayed with them, took them by surprise, made them laugh, or kept them up late turning pages. That’s the best fuel any writer could ask for.