Spotlight on a Crime Fiction Author: A Closer Look at Patrick Shanahan.
Patrick Shanahan has always wanted to write. At first it was the human interest stories from his childhood, published in local newspapers. Then that blossomed into full length novels a few years later. For about 15 years, he has been putting his thoughts and imagination together to write in his favorite genre–crime fiction. Although Patrick has written a variety of topics, everything from sci-fi to children’s stories, he returns to his favorite genre of crime fiction. Probably his inner city upbringing in Chicago, where some of his friends and relatives became law enforcement officers, has influenced his interest in crime stories. Along with his experiences as a union activist during two extremely long work stoppages, Patrick has a deep well of information from which to draw. Many of his stories are fueled with a mixture of anecdotes from real life along with a vivid imagination.
Because he feels life is a learning experience, Patrick reads for information as well as enjoyment. So he likes to read most anything except paranormal and erotica. Over the years, his articles and short-stories have appeared in newsletters, newspapers and nationally-distributed magazines. Although he has self-published several titles, currently he has contracted with Solstice Publishing for two manuscripts, A Girl Named Jane & Terror on Home Soil. Both are available as kindle reads on Amazon Books with future plans for print and audio versions.
Currently Patrick is writing a novel titled The Bull. It is about the adventures of an abused city kid who enters the world of crime. Originally this was Patrick’s first title, but at his agent’s suggestion, he is refreshing and adding to the story. Even with all the rookie mistakes and the poor editing, the book earned him a great deal of encouragement from readers.
I asked Patrick what he does when not writing. He says he has a wide variety of interests which includes all sports and surfing the internet. He loves cars and racing them (and has a few scars to prove it). He’s owned numerous fast cars and even a jet boat. He loves the ocean and has spent nearly 200 days at sea on cruise ships. He manages much of his own portfolio and is very interested in politics. Many of his stories mirror these interests.
I asked Patrick if he could become a fictional character, which one would he be. He answered, “Roy Hobbs, the character Robert Redford played in The Natural. I wanted to be a professional baseball player but suffered an arm injury and never made it past college ball.” When asked to name his favorite author, Patrick named Harold Robbins as well as James Patterson, Dean Koontz, and John Grisham with his all-time favorite book being Harold Robbins’ The Carpet Baggers.
Finally, I asked Patrick what he would like his fans to know about him. He says he avoids flowery narration and challenging words. He writes mostly about what he knows. And for what he doesn’t know, Uncle Google is his best friend. He learns from the past, and he plans for the future. You can find Terror on Home Soil here:
http://www.amazon.com/TERROR-HOME-SOIL-Patrick-Shanahan-ebook/product-reviews/B00IAD66XY/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1.
