Interview with DL Barbur, author of the Dent Miller Thrillers
The Indie Crime Scene is pleased to interview DL Barbur, author of Rose City Free Fall and Rose City Renegade. This interview was conducted by Dennis Chekalov:
Would you tell us about the beginning of your writing career?
I've been writing since I was in my late teens. At times, I would go for years without writing, because other events in life intervened. I finished my first novel, (which I would never want anyone to read) in the early 2000's. In 2006 I finished Rose City Free Fall and it languished for over a decade as I went through various life changes. In 2014 I started writing seriously again, and would periodically have a look at Rose City Free Fall. I wasn't sure I wanted to write crime thrillers, and I wasn't confident that Rose City Free Fall was worthy of publication, but there was something about Dent Miler and his story that kept drawing me back.
In early 2017 I read a traditionally published thriller novel that was so bad I literally threw it across the room. I read Rose City Free Fall again and realized with some work, it could be as good as much of the commercial fiction that was sitting on shelves at the time. The manuscript went from 150,000 words to 105,000 as I killed some darlings and edited out back story. I published in November 2017, with very low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised at the reception the book received.
I've been writing since I was in my late teens. At times, I would go for years without writing, because other events in life intervened. I finished my first novel, (which I would never want anyone to read) in the early 2000's. In 2006 I finished Rose City Free Fall and it languished for over a decade as I went through various life changes. In 2014 I started writing seriously again, and would periodically have a look at Rose City Free Fall. I wasn't sure I wanted to write crime thrillers, and I wasn't confident that Rose City Free Fall was worthy of publication, but there was something about Dent Miler and his story that kept drawing me back.
In early 2017 I read a traditionally published thriller novel that was so bad I literally threw it across the room. I read Rose City Free Fall again and realized with some work, it could be as good as much of the commercial fiction that was sitting on shelves at the time. The manuscript went from 150,000 words to 105,000 as I killed some darlings and edited out back story. I published in November 2017, with very low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised at the reception the book received.
What books did you grow up on?
Before I even started kindergarten, I taught myself to read Star Wars comic books. By early grade school, I was reading well above my age level. The summer I was eight, my mom bought me a giant box of books at a yard sale. There were a couple dozen hardbacks from the 1950s and 1960's inside, Hardy Boys, Rick Brant Science Adventures, things like that. I was hooked and became a lifelong reader. Fortunately, my parents were readers and encouraged me to read as well. We lived in a small town in Appalachia that had a wonderful librarian who helped feed my reading habit. I devoured all the Hardy Boys books, Tolkien, Lloyd Alexander and dozens of other authors. By the time I was in middle school, I was reading adult level books.
Before I even started kindergarten, I taught myself to read Star Wars comic books. By early grade school, I was reading well above my age level. The summer I was eight, my mom bought me a giant box of books at a yard sale. There were a couple dozen hardbacks from the 1950s and 1960's inside, Hardy Boys, Rick Brant Science Adventures, things like that. I was hooked and became a lifelong reader. Fortunately, my parents were readers and encouraged me to read as well. We lived in a small town in Appalachia that had a wonderful librarian who helped feed my reading habit. I devoured all the Hardy Boys books, Tolkien, Lloyd Alexander and dozens of other authors. By the time I was in middle school, I was reading adult level books.
Tell us please about your police work.
I served for six years in the United States Coast Guard, which in addition to being a branch of the military, is a federal law enforcement agency. Much of the law enforcement work I did was geared towards fisheries law enforcement and natural resource protection, but I also did some counter-narcotics work in Central America and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
After that, I worked briefly as a police officer in a medium-sized city in the Pacific Northwest. That was an intense experience and a real eye-opener. I had a young family at the time, and ultimately decided I needed more stability than being a cop could provide.
I served for six years in the United States Coast Guard, which in addition to being a branch of the military, is a federal law enforcement agency. Much of the law enforcement work I did was geared towards fisheries law enforcement and natural resource protection, but I also did some counter-narcotics work in Central America and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
After that, I worked briefly as a police officer in a medium-sized city in the Pacific Northwest. That was an intense experience and a real eye-opener. I had a young family at the time, and ultimately decided I needed more stability than being a cop could provide.
Do you use events and stories from your life as inspiration for
your fiction? Can you give examples?
Absolutely! In general, I try to keep my stories consistent with what it is like to deal with cops and criminals. It really is a different world than most people are used to.
Specifically, I did some work with homeless teens and witnessed first hand how they are exploited by some truly evil people. The homicide that kicks off the events in Rose City Free Fall is directly inspired by that work. There's also an autopsy scene in Rose City Free Fall that is inspired by real life.
One of the realities of being a police officer is exposed to violence, as either a participant or a witness. I often read books where depictions of violence make me roll my eyes. I try for more verisimilitude in my books. Dent Miller is a scary dude, capable of mowing down some pretty tough opposition, but in Rose City Renegade we get to see him deal with the mental and emotional cost of fear and violence. That's a trend that will continue in future books.
Absolutely! In general, I try to keep my stories consistent with what it is like to deal with cops and criminals. It really is a different world than most people are used to.
Specifically, I did some work with homeless teens and witnessed first hand how they are exploited by some truly evil people. The homicide that kicks off the events in Rose City Free Fall is directly inspired by that work. There's also an autopsy scene in Rose City Free Fall that is inspired by real life.
One of the realities of being a police officer is exposed to violence, as either a participant or a witness. I often read books where depictions of violence make me roll my eyes. I try for more verisimilitude in my books. Dent Miller is a scary dude, capable of mowing down some pretty tough opposition, but in Rose City Renegade we get to see him deal with the mental and emotional cost of fear and violence. That's a trend that will continue in future books.
How the reality of police work differs from fiction?
I've often said that if someone wrote a completely realistic cop story, nobody would want to read it. First, there's the boring tedium of paperwork and responding to calls that are a waste of time, like when someone calls because their neighbor's dog is barking. Second, much of a police officer's time isn't spent fighting crime, but performing what's called “community caretaking.” That's where you're dealing with child neglect, senior citizens that don't have anyone to take care of them, and mentally ill people with no one to advocate for them.
When we read stories, we're also looking for meaning and resolution. In reality, police work usually doesn't offer either, which is one of the reasons why there is so much burn out. Often significant events happen for no real reason. A father of three looks down at his phone at the wrong moment and gets run over by a passing car and it's just random bad luck.
Cops spend much of their time dealing with the fallout of poverty, lack of opportunity, substance abuse, mental illness, and broken families. You start your career as a rookie, and then thirty years later when you retire, things don't look that much different than when you started, and often they are worse. You haven't really solved anything, you've just managed your part of the problem the best you can.
I've often said that if someone wrote a completely realistic cop story, nobody would want to read it. First, there's the boring tedium of paperwork and responding to calls that are a waste of time, like when someone calls because their neighbor's dog is barking. Second, much of a police officer's time isn't spent fighting crime, but performing what's called “community caretaking.” That's where you're dealing with child neglect, senior citizens that don't have anyone to take care of them, and mentally ill people with no one to advocate for them.
When we read stories, we're also looking for meaning and resolution. In reality, police work usually doesn't offer either, which is one of the reasons why there is so much burn out. Often significant events happen for no real reason. A father of three looks down at his phone at the wrong moment and gets run over by a passing car and it's just random bad luck.
Cops spend much of their time dealing with the fallout of poverty, lack of opportunity, substance abuse, mental illness, and broken families. You start your career as a rookie, and then thirty years later when you retire, things don't look that much different than when you started, and often they are worse. You haven't really solved anything, you've just managed your part of the problem the best you can.
Please present us your main character, Dent Miller. How is your
character like you?
When we first meet Dent in Rose City Free Fall, he's in his early forties, and working as a detective for the Portland Police Bureau. He's a good cop, but horrible at inter-office politics and doesn't have much of a life apart from work. Because of his upbringing, he has a desire to stick up for people who are bullied and abused, and a pig-headed stubbornness that often gets him in trouble.
Dent and I are both big guys who come from Appalachia. Fortunately, I had a much better childhood than Dent, but happy families don't make for good stories. I think I could have become much like Dent if I had stuck with police work.
When we first meet Dent in Rose City Free Fall, he's in his early forties, and working as a detective for the Portland Police Bureau. He's a good cop, but horrible at inter-office politics and doesn't have much of a life apart from work. Because of his upbringing, he has a desire to stick up for people who are bullied and abused, and a pig-headed stubbornness that often gets him in trouble.
Dent and I are both big guys who come from Appalachia. Fortunately, I had a much better childhood than Dent, but happy families don't make for good stories. I think I could have become much like Dent if I had stuck with police work.
Please introduce your books — Rose City Free Fall and Rose City
Renegade.
In Rose City Free Fall, Dent's life is torn apart. When the book starts, he isn't exactly happy, but he at least has a comfortable routine. He stumbles into a conspiracy and everything is taken from him. He loses both his job and girlfriend and finds himself framed for a crime he didn't commit. By the end, he's seen just enough of the truth to realize much of what he believed was a lie. In the middle of all this, he starts a relationship with the woman he's always carried a torch for.
In Rose City Renegade, the stakes get raised even higher as he tries to dismantle the shadowy organization that tried to kill him. He helps foil a terrorist attack on the city of Portland and finds a new crew of compatriots that have his back. He also has to navigate the ups and downs of his new relationship.
In Rose City Free Fall, Dent's life is torn apart. When the book starts, he isn't exactly happy, but he at least has a comfortable routine. He stumbles into a conspiracy and everything is taken from him. He loses both his job and girlfriend and finds himself framed for a crime he didn't commit. By the end, he's seen just enough of the truth to realize much of what he believed was a lie. In the middle of all this, he starts a relationship with the woman he's always carried a torch for.
In Rose City Renegade, the stakes get raised even higher as he tries to dismantle the shadowy organization that tried to kill him. He helps foil a terrorist attack on the city of Portland and finds a new crew of compatriots that have his back. He also has to navigate the ups and downs of his new relationship.
Is your character able to break the law? Why?
At the beginning of Rose City Free Fall, Dent engages in some morally gray actions in pursuit of a greater good.
I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the big turning point in Rose City Free Fall is when Dent crosses the line and does something that is clearly against the law. By then he has hooked up with a shadowy group that operates so far outside the law it's like they don't even exist.
At the beginning of Rose City Free Fall, Dent engages in some morally gray actions in pursuit of a greater good.
I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the big turning point in Rose City Free Fall is when Dent crosses the line and does something that is clearly against the law. By then he has hooked up with a shadowy group that operates so far outside the law it's like they don't even exist.
What’s more important for you as an author — a detective
whodunit-plot or a human drama?
I'll take a good human drama at any time. When I look back on the thousands of books I've read, I don't remember plots, but I vividly remember characters. I'm a big fan of Craig Johnson's Longmire series, for example. I'd be hard-pressed to recall the plots of his dozen or so books, but Walt, Vic, Henry and the rest of the characters in those books are very real in my mind.
My goal with Dent is to create a flawed character that people sympathize with and remember.
I'll take a good human drama at any time. When I look back on the thousands of books I've read, I don't remember plots, but I vividly remember characters. I'm a big fan of Craig Johnson's Longmire series, for example. I'd be hard-pressed to recall the plots of his dozen or so books, but Walt, Vic, Henry and the rest of the characters in those books are very real in my mind.
My goal with Dent is to create a flawed character that people sympathize with and remember.
Are you planning to continue your series about Dent Miller? Or
maybe your next book will be about someone else?
As soon as I get done with this interview, I'm going to start writing the third Dent Miller book. I haven't decided on a title yet, but I have an outline and I know the first line, so I'm ready to go.
The third book will wrap up the mess Dent has found himself in. I have plenty of ideas for more Dent Miller stories, but I'm going to let him rest for a while. Dent's world is a dark place, and frankly, I need a little bit of a break.
I have a list of over twenty ideas that could reasonably be turned into novels. Right now I'm undecided about my next project after Dent Miller #3.
One option is a series of thrillers featuring the US Coast Guard. They are vastly underrepresented in the thriller genre, and I've got some pretty killer ideas.
Since I left law enforcement, I've moved to the edge of a national forest, and have become very involved in wilderness skills, wildlife tracking, and homesteading. I've written one “wilderness mystery” that could turn into a good series as well.
As soon as I get done with this interview, I'm going to start writing the third Dent Miller book. I haven't decided on a title yet, but I have an outline and I know the first line, so I'm ready to go.
The third book will wrap up the mess Dent has found himself in. I have plenty of ideas for more Dent Miller stories, but I'm going to let him rest for a while. Dent's world is a dark place, and frankly, I need a little bit of a break.
I have a list of over twenty ideas that could reasonably be turned into novels. Right now I'm undecided about my next project after Dent Miller #3.
One option is a series of thrillers featuring the US Coast Guard. They are vastly underrepresented in the thriller genre, and I've got some pretty killer ideas.
Since I left law enforcement, I've moved to the edge of a national forest, and have become very involved in wilderness skills, wildlife tracking, and homesteading. I've written one “wilderness mystery” that could turn into a good series as well.
What is your creative process like?
I started out as a “pantser,” someone who makes the book up as they go. I've written five novels now and with each one, I've become more of an outliner.
Now I outline the story in Scrivener, using a three-act story structure, and spend quite a bit of time figuring out the overall arc before I write the first word. This virtually eliminates “writer's block” for me because I always know what is going to happen next. The story certainly grows and changes as I go, but it's a huge advantage to have that basic structure in mind before I start typing.
I started out as a “pantser,” someone who makes the book up as they go. I've written five novels now and with each one, I've become more of an outliner.
Now I outline the story in Scrivener, using a three-act story structure, and spend quite a bit of time figuring out the overall arc before I write the first word. This virtually eliminates “writer's block” for me because I always know what is going to happen next. The story certainly grows and changes as I go, but it's a huge advantage to have that basic structure in mind before I start typing.
In your opinion, what’s the educational function of literature?
First, I don't think there is anything at all wrong with books that only entertain. However, consuming nothing but that is the equivalent of eating nothing but fast food. The very best books introduce us to points of view that we might otherwise not experience.
Thanks to the good books I've read, I've gotten insights into other cultures and experiences
that I would never have experienced, and I think I'm a better
person for that.First, I don't think there is anything at all wrong with books that only entertain. However, consuming nothing but that is the equivalent of eating nothing but fast food. The very best books introduce us to points of view that we might otherwise not experience.
Thanks to the good books I've read, I've gotten insights into other cultures and experiences
In Rose City Free Fall, I really wanted to work more with the realities of human trafficking. I've witnessed the cost of that, and it's terrible. I found that it's difficult to write about these things without being overly didactic, and it's also tough to tell some of those truths and still have a story that someone might enjoy reading.
Ultimately, I realized I needed to save that for another book. At some point in the future, Dent Miller will revisit that topic in a story where I can give it the room it deserves.
About DL Barbur:
DL
Barbur lives in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, but regularly
ventures into Portland. He’s been a deck seaman, police officer and
hamburger flipper. He enjoys blues guitar and black coffee with an oily
sheen on top.
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