Interview with the Author of Giant Steps - Patrick H. Moore

Patrick H. Moore is a Los Angeles-based author, investigator, and sentencing mitigation specialist. Known for his razor-sharp thrillers, he brings a gritty authenticity to his fiction, drawing on years of real-world investigative experience. His novels combine gripping suspense with deep social commentary, engaging readers who crave both adrenaline and insight.

Author Interview

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?

Books were always a part of my life. My parents read to my siblings and me—serious books and light-hearted books—almost every evening. We lived in rural Wisconsin, and my father would scoop up entire one-room schoolhouse libraries when they closed down.

I always enjoyed writing in school and occasionally wrote something good enough to draw my teacher’s attention. I started writing seriously, however, at the age of 25 when I began work on my first unpublished novel, The Gravel Road.

Do you have a specific writing style?

 Like any professional writer, I adopt different styles depending on the task at hand. During my twenty years of sentencing mitigation work, I wrote hundreds of Federal Sentencing Memoranda, which were read by judges and prosecutors. Therefore, I wrote these documents in a calm, measured and respectful style.

When it comes to my own fiction writing, I give myself far more leeway. My novelistic style is broad-based. In my Nick Crane novels, I’m known for my staccato rat-a-tat style, but I also employ long flowing sentences when the story calls for them. I try to vary my sentence structure but always strive to keep the story moving forward. In my current WIP, a psychological suspense novel, I use both conventional third person narrative techniques and various first-person voices. The challenge here is to keep each first-person voice distinct and to also keep them distinct from the third person narrative voice.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

There are several crime writers whom I think of as mentors, both as positive forces and as warnings as to what not to do. The early Dennis Lehane Patrick Kenzie novels, The James Lee Burke Dave Robicheaux novels, and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher stories have all influenced me. From Lehane I learned that plot, characterization and dialogue are all crucial in writing a strong crime novel. From Burke I learned the importance of setting, characterization and empathy, but found his plots to be murky.  From Child I learned the importance of creating a strong, iconic protagonist, which is what I consider my protagonist, Nick Crane, to be. Jack Reacher, however, is only half a man. He is strong, masculine and knows right from wrong but lacks empathy to a shocking degree and is also incapable of experiencing real joy. Therefore, in creating Nick Crane, I have tried to imbue him with the entire range of human emotions.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

For me creating characters and writing dialogue comes naturally. Creating strong storylines does not come so easily. The story has to work, and I work very hard to create strong, plausible plots. The other hard part pertains to the nuts and bolts of writing. Every sentence and every paragraph has to pass the sniff test. I go over my paragraphs and sentences with a fine-toothed comb until I am satisfied. This takes untold hours but is necessary to give my work the sheen and polish I am striving for.

Read the full interview on BookBuzz at https://bookbuzz.net/interview-with-author-patrick-h-moore-about-his-new-thriller-giant-steps/

Connect with Patrick online at

Website: https://www.patrickhmoorewriter.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577783593185

Giant Steps is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other major retailers.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FP8C8N8Z