Q&A With Michael Kent 

Michael Kent is my latest guest to do a Q&A for my blog. Michael is the author of eight mystery novels to name a few: Deadly Storm, Blood Tail, Folded Dreams, Twice Dead and coming out this fall the ninth in the Lieutenant Beaudy series Voodoo Dead. Michael  is a retired international management consultant. And was also a private pilot for many years.

Q: Michael, would you like to tell the readers of the blog and I a bit about Voodoo Dead & where the idea for the novel came from?

A: All of my novels are fictional, but most are founded on true events.

My current project Voodoo Dead is loosely based on a double murder in Old Montreal.  The high-end boutique clothing store was owned by a Haitian street gang leader by the name of Ducarme Joseph. The hired killers were seeking vengeance for the assassination of the local Mafia don’s son. 

Ducarme was rumored to have been involved in that killing. Ducarme escaped by a back door while his bodyguards and a worker were gunned down.

This is the first novel where my protagonist Homicide detective Lieutenant Robert Beaudry travels to New Orleans to find Ducarme the voodoo priest.  I can’t give you more without spoiling the read for mystery fans.

Q: On your website your bio said that years as a private pilot, avid reading and extensive traveling have influenced your writing. Is it also fair to say that your time as an international management consultant inspired your writing too? 

A: My travels to Europe and the middle east are not reflected in this Montreal based mystery series but will come up in a spy novel that is on my active list.

Q: Do you base any characters loosely off of yourself and others in your life?

A: The fast shooting sometimes politically incorrect detective Beaudry is based on Rene Duperron, a tough cop that patrolled the red-light district of Montreal in the late 1950’s. The rest of the characters are fictional with perhaps memories of real people in my travels.

Q: What exactly does an international management consultant do?

A: Most mandates were to build new factories or to turn around a failing business. In some instances I had to act as an arbitrator between management and unions. Mandates were from companies or from government agencies. I’m not at liberty to give more details due to non-disclosure agreements.

Q: Was the transition from international management consultant and private pilot to an author an easy one? Did you know you always wanted to write or did this come later?

A: I don’t read— I devour books. Most of my reading was in the mystery genre. Robert B Parker-John D McDonald-Robert Crais. Or science fiction, Ray Bradbury-L. Ron Hubbard- L. Sprague de Camp. 

If you don’t read you can’t write. I started writing eight years ago after attending online writing classes. Writers Village University, Writer’s Digest University, and a few others. I’m also a founding member of The Next Big Writer, a critique and learning platform for new writers or where you can try out some new ideas. A great practical hands-on site that helps you improve your writing.

Q: What made you want to write in the crime fiction genre?

A: Basically it’s my favorite reading genre. And many of my friends are from Crime Writers of Canada. So I guess it was contagious.

Q: Are you currently writing your next novel now? If so can you reveal any details or is it too early to say?

A: I can tell you about a book outside of the crime series. The spy novel title is Friends, Spies, Enemies. In the world of espionage your friend can be an enemy agent and an enemy can become a friend. Your life is based on lies and deceit. A very dangerous world to live in. The fictionalized novel is based on actual events with changes in the timelines and of course fictitious names. It’s going to make for interesting reading.

Writer Michael Kent a serious moment in a Zoom meeting