Donna Meredith interviews Bruce Ballister, author of “Next of Kin” and “Traffick”

Summary:

Human trafficking for the sex trade is the issue at the heart of the first two Jason Saylor action-packed mysteries. In the first book, which was recently reissued as Next of Kin, Jason returns to his hometown on the northern coast of Florida. He’s been involuntarily furloughed from a successful career in investigative journalism, a career that threatened too many of Houston’s power elite. Now that he’s home in Florida, he finds himself embroiled as a prime suspect in the case of missing coed, Lindsey Lawrence. His intention of spending the furlough writing a new series of euro-spy novels is interrupted as he puts his investigative skills to the test to clear his name against the advice of the Sheriff and his former best friend, now a local policeman.

The second installment, Traffick, continues Jason’s story. It works as a stand-alone novel—but read the first one—you’ll be glad you did. In Traffick, Jason learns Lindsey is his biological daughter and works to develop a relationship with her. He also becomes close to Lindsey’s slightly older co-worker and roommate Belle. There’s plenty of risk-taking, dangerous characters, and challenging escapes to keep readers turning the pages.

Interview:

Donna Meredith: How did you get interested in writing about human trafficking?

Bruce Ballister: I think the unreported tragedy of it. The statistics on trafficking are appalling. It is the modern manifestation of slavery, for agricultural purposes, the sex trade, household servants, manufacturing. Depending on the locale, it is likely present in most urbanized areas, whether in the steaming kitchen of a Chinese restaurant, or brothel anywhere, a coca plantation in Ecuador or a sweatshop in India.

DM: Jason is an action-oriented guy, and he tends to bend the law at times. What inspired you to create this character?

BB:  He spent time in the Army, which most would agree, has some pretty stiff behavioral code. I was also in the army and know that there are a lot of rules that get bent with some regularity, some line of duty, some extracurricular.

DM: Which of his traits are similar to yours and which are different? What are his strengths and weaknesses?

BB: He’s not a shy person. A reporter would have to be an in-your-face confrontational type when there was a need. I’m not that, usually.  Although, I’ve been more likely to step up when I passed into my 40s and most people would not recognize the less confident person I shed. His strengths: He’s loyal, and dependable, and considerate. Weaknesses: he should not drink. His father drank, and he’s not sure his father’s death on the SGI bridge wasn’t a suicide by car.

DM: Have you spent a lot of time in the coastal areas described in the novel, such as Apalachicola, Eastpoint, St. George Island, Panama City, and Pensacola? What about them made such an excellent setting for your novel?

Bruce Ballister

BB: I’ve spent the first week in September at SGI at anywhere from 300 Ocean Mile to the Plantation, and many rental ‘sand castles’ in between. I’ve been the regional planner for those counties. And as a much younger person, visited the venerable Show ‘n’ Tale lounge with golfing buddies to know first hand what the environment would be like inside Junior’s Knight Club. More limited exposure to Pensacola, although my premature daughter spent her first two months at Sacred Heart Hospital and I was there every moment I could avoid work.

DM: I suspect the character Belle was fun to create. Could you share a little bit about her personality?

BB: I really enjoyed creating her character. I found a headshot of a petite blonde in a bob cut that I filed in Scrivener, to reference. I felt I could get inside her moods; her thin veneer of a bubbling personality overlays the scars of an unhappy childhood in a very low-income home. It’s likely that her father abused her, her stepfather is no winner. Those experiences make it very difficult for her to forgive Will’s womanizing.

Donna Meredith

DM: What made you decide to add a young woman—Jason’s daughter—to your action story? What does she bring to the table?

BB: The first novel, Next of Kin began as a NaNoWriMo personal challenge. It grew organically, with no plot and considerable input from the characters, as I wrote. Lindsey was the missing person in that novel and she becomes very dear to Jason by the beginning of Traffick. Having her go missing with her friend from across the social divide, Mercy Johnson, deepens their bond, makes her more resilient in the end. She makes a difficult choice to establish her control over the family holdings, and put off the banal opportunities of a BS degree. I had no idea that there would be a mid-air abduction, when Jason finds a folder labeled ‘Plane’ in the Pensacola House, but it drives the intensity of the search for the ties to the organization behind the abductions and moves the fast-moving action in Panama City.

DM: Usually stories have some characters who turn out to be surprising—either they turn out to be better humans than first expected, or they appear to be allies at first but flip our impressions later. Tell us about these characters in your novel.

BB: Sergeant Mallory appears as one of the arresting officers at the beginning of the original novel. In Traffick he becomes instrumental as a conversation partner for plot mechanics and a good friend. Another would be Patrick Wills, Jason’s best friend in High School. He tries to make up for his transgressions in the first novel against both Jason and Belle. And the Sheriff, an unyielding force in book 1, bends (a little) to allow Mallory to accompany Jason to Panama City. Could you talk about surprising twists in this story? The out-blue phone call from Natalia/Ivana that gives a direction to their search for the organizational ties in Panama City. The failure of the cigarette boat to capture the sports fisherman in the calm waters of North Bay, forcing the multi-agency offshore arrests.

DM: What was the most difficult part of writing this novel? The easiest?

Bruce Ballister

BB: Although neither of the Jason Saylor novels is first person, it has a tight third person narrative. He is in every scene. He drives the action; all other characters are in a supporting role. In this kind of an action thriller, that is difficult. Jason has CID experience but in his role here, he has no agency. No reason to be part of the official chase, instrumental in the takedown on the boats or on the upper floors of the PCB highrise. Keeping him in the action was difficult, but it added to his frustration of not being ‘in it’. Putting Mallory on the chase boat to give play-by-plays and the subsequent radio traffic made it possible to at least follow along.

The easiest?  Developing the growing bonds between Jason and his Belle, and with his

daughter Lindsey. There are some tender moments with each.

DM: Even though this is the type of book readers would primarily read for enjoyment, it has some serious underlying themes. What do you want readers to take away from your novel?

BB: Most of my books include themes that take on the inequities of life. Climate change, social disorder, etc. The Jason Saylor novels highlight the impact of the global plague of human trafficking at the personal level. What would you do if it happened to you? Most people’s understanding of it comes from Liam Neeson movies. I’ve added personal notes and an excerpt from the United Nations at the back of the book, outlining the scope of the human disaster, and I’ve provided the hand signal for recognizing an abductee’s silent call for help.

But I want them to enjoy the novel, hope that I’ve not burdened it overmuch with backstory, and hearing that someone read it in an overnight blitz as happened on occasions with the first book, would be gratifying.

DM: What are you working on next?

BB: There’s a backlog of short stories that I want to put out this summer, and new ones seem to be flowing off my fingertips lately. As I write these responses, I wrote one draft yesterday afternoon, and a second one this morning. It’s been sweet! But a third Jason Saylor novel is brewing in the gray matter. It will involve a corrupted AI chat bot.  ‘Nuff said for now.

DM: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us about your novel.

About the Author:

Bruce Ballister is a life-long fan of books, reading authors from multiple genres. It’s no wonder then, that his output reflects that variety. He is a fan of the classic sci-fi writers, such as Clark and Heinlein as well as the newer generation of science fiction writers including S A Corey and Andy Weir. His crime novel, still in the works, is a tribute and result of his enjoyment of Michael Connelley’s Bosch series as well as the international intrigues of Ludlum, Brown, and DeSilva. His one foray into non-fiction is a result of his brush with heart disease. Still the number one killer in the developed world. He resides in North Florida, with his wife of 30 years, and an 80lb puppy.