Q&A With Mike Omer 

Another Q&A to start off 2024 is with the New York Times Bestselling author of the Zoe Bentley Mystery series & the Glenmore Park Mystery Series Mike Omer. In a past life Mike Omer was a journalist, a game developer & the CEO of the company Loading games. That’s quite an impressive list I think! 

Q: I love reading mysteries as much as you enjoy writing them. Tell me Mike, what do you enjoy most about writing a great mystery?

A: I love writing about people. The mystery is a great setting for me to delve into those people’s emotions and lives.

Q: Would you like to tell the readers of the blog and I about the Zoe Bentley Mystery series & the Glenmore Park Mystery Series? Where did the ideas for both of these series come from? 

A: The Glenmore Park Mystery series was my first mystery series. I wanted to create a detective squad in a small town, confronted with unusual violent crimes. When I was writing the first of those books, Spider’s Web, I created a side character who was a consultant sent by the FBI to help the detectives. That character was Zoe Bentley. Readers loved her so much that I ended up wanting to write a spinoff focusing on her.

Q: Mike, in your opinion what are the most important ingredients for writing great mysteries? Inquisitive minds like myself, & future mystery authors want to know!

A: I believe that the most important ingredient for any genre of fiction, is the characters. Without a good cast of characters with an interesting voice, even the most intricate mystery would be boring.

Once that is done, you need a good hook and preferably an exciting twist or two. The pacing should be structured to increase as the book progresses, with a lull or two, for the readers to take a breath. Add a pinch of salt and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

Q: How long does it typically take you to write a book?

A: It takes me about seven months to get a good draft that I can send to my editor

Q: What is the process like when you are plotting, writing and editing your work?

A: I sit down in front of my computer every morning, and stare at it mournfully. Then I begin to write/outline/edit. If I get stuck, I go running, which usually releases some creative juices. I work every day until about 16:00, unless I have a pressing deadline

Q: Are you currently writing the sequels in the Zoe Bentley Mystery series & the Glenmore Park Mystery Series, a beginning of a new series or a standalone novel?

A: I’m currently writing a completely different genre under a different pen name.

Q: Does Hollywood have the rights to the Zoe Bentley Mystery series & the Glenmore Park Mystery Series? Who would be your dream cast to play the characters? The entertainment industry needs original content again instead of remakes, reboots, sequels, prequels & spinoffs. 

A: Hollywood doesn’t have the rights for any of my books, but one can always hope

Q: Would you say that  your journalism skills were a great help in writing the Zoe Bentley Mystery series & the Glenmore Park Mystery Series? Is it also fair to say that the characters and places you created in your novels are taken loosely from different people and places?

A: I was a computer game journalist so… not of a particular help. I do take fragments of reality and incorporate them into characters and places I write about

Q: What’s it like having your mystery books on the New York Times Bestsellers list?

A: Pretty cool. But not as cool as having my mystery books in the hands of readers.