Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
Throughout my entire life, I hated reading books; I was always a movie person. Now, I don't even own a television. I'm constantly reading or writing. I'm not sure what triggered the change, but I've become a completely different person.
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How long have you been writing?
Since 2018. I had just got out of a three-year (on/off) relationship, and I was telling my friends what happened. They all said the same thing: you should write a book. I thought the idea was ridiculous; I would have rather written a screenplay, which I did. A friend of mine saw that I was writing a story and introduced me to her husband, Justin, who has a Master's degree in English. He read it and encouraged me to make it a novel and became one of my two editors. Since then, it's been an exciting journey.
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When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I believe you become a writer when the blank page is no longer empty. However, I didn't consider myself a writer until I received my first book. The feeling of something that was in your head turning physical is unique and inspiring.
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What inspired you to write this book?
I went to bed one night after and woke up to Bodhi. I know he didn't come from a dream because it took a few days to understand who he is and what his story is all about. It was the strangest damn experience, though. I had finished six books and working on my seventh when he came along, and I have never connected with a character like him. I tell people I feel like there's a universe of fiction that is parallel to reality, and all these characters are walking around, peeking into our world, and looking for someone to tell their story. It's like Bodhi chose me. That was November 26th of 2019, and not a day goes by when I don't think about him. At first, I thought I was crazy, but nearly everyone who has read his stories says the same thing: they can't stop thinking about him.
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Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Bodhi Crocodile?
Bodhi is a grown man with a child-like persona who's a fan of crocodiles and mobster movies. He doesn't speak, but there's nothing wrong with him. He represents our childhood innocence. He wanders into the big, evil world one day and meets four strangers who are each involved in their own nightmares.
Freddy Gordon is the first person he meets who invites Bodhi into his diner. Alvie Gordon is Freddy's son and a private investigator with anxiety issues caused by hiding a big secret. Terrance Brown is a street thug who aspires to make a better life for himself. Penny Lynn is a nurse who carries around a weight of guilt.
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If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
My first choice would be Flula Borg. I didn't discover him until after Bodhi was written and the cover was designed, but to my surprise, he looks almost identical. He's also six-foot-three, just like Bodhi.Sierra Love is my choice to play Penny Lynn. She also looks exactly like the character I have in my head. Maybe someday I'll get lucky. Almost anything is possible.
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What can we expect from you in the future?
Bodhi's story is a trilogy. The second installment came out in April 2021, and the third is coming in August of 2021. After that, I would like to resume working on a couple of projects that Bodhi pushed to the back burner, but there will be more Bodhi stories to come. That's without a doubt. I'll probably keep writing Bodhi until I die.
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Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
I would say to listen to others who have read/listened to it. (It's also an award-winning audiobook.) You fall in love with Bodhi from the second you meet him. His story is well balanced with spine-chilling thrills and tear-jerking heartache. The record for how many times someone cried is 6. I'm not going to lie...I cried writing it.
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Fun Facts/Behind the Scenes/Did You Know?'-type tidbits about the author, the book or the writing process of the book.
🐊 There's a chapter titled, "Son of a Business Man," and it's the first time we meet the character, Alvie. In a later chapter, Alvie is browsing a collection of vinyl records. One of them is an album by Dusty Springfield who wrote and performed the song, "Son of a Preacher Man." In the same scene, Alvie plays a single by Bobby Darin but the song is not named. However, the song is right there in the title of the chapter: "Mack the Knife." Alvie also has a philosophy about the moon, and he first mentions this in a bar. The song playing on the jukebox is Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon."
🐊 As comic relief, there's a chapter when Bodhi and Alvie stop by a bar. The author, Bradley Carter, is written in as the bartender. The book's editors, Justin Bridges and Jennifer Fall, are written in as patrons.
🐊 Though her name isn't mentioned, one of the police officers is the character, Liz Williams, from "Son of a Bitch." Another is Avery, who has appeared as a character in every other book.
🐊 This is the first book not edited by the author's friend, Jaime Thorn, and it's referenced in the chapter when Freddy Gordon's collection of encyclopedias is missing the volume for J.
🐊 AUTHOR TRADEMARK: Alvie Gordon's office is located on the third floor of a building. Any scene taking place in previous books on an upper floor of a building, happens on the third. Felix Hines worked on the third floor in "Brightside." Miranda Neal's room is on the third floor of the hospital in "Red Flags." Craze has his own on the third floor in "Valiant."
🐊 Bodhi's handgun is a 9mm Taurus 1911.
🐊 Freddy Gordon is loosely based on the late actor Hume Cronyn.
🐊 Alvie is an anagram for the word “Alive.”
🐊 Part 2 contains 50 chapters. The first one written was chapter 45, titled: “Lights. Camera. Action!” In this chapter, there’s a song by Norman Greenbaum that is mentioned. The lyrics contain clues to the end of Part 3 and the outcome of the entire trilogy.
🐊 Part 2 was released on April 8th, the author’s birthday.
🐊 Tony, the rideshare driver, is the main character of the short story, “Ride Share,” also written by the author, and is loosely based on actor Tony Goldwyn.
🐊 Though the city is never mentioned, a few characters from the author's previous books appear, thus placing the story in the same universe.
🐊 Originally, Enzo's last name was Gianni but later changed to DiGiovanni as a nod to the original founders of the Kansas City Mafia.
🐊 Yeshua is based on a real person the author discovered at a restaurant. His physical description and features are identical, including related details such as the pink ‘Bitchmobile’ decal on the rear window of a brown van and fashionable combat boots. He’s six-feet-plus in height, which makes him the perfect villain to confront Bodhi.
🐊 Sharli’s character was originally a boy named Charlie. She explains this change when she first meets Bodhi.
🐊 Bodhi wears a wristwatch set six hours off from the correct time. The purpose is left unexplained in the second book, but the time difference serves as a reference to the six people who go missing throughout the story. Bodhi crushes the watch by stepping on it, but it’s not forgotten in Part 3.
🐊 Part 2: The Button is the author’s eighth novel. The preceding books are referenced throughout, as well as unfinished projects the sequel bumped aside.
Red Flags - One of the six missing persons is a software engineer student.
Craze - A red cardinal bird lands on Willian’s tombstone and interacts with Bodhi.
Valiant - Detective Spencer mentions Cherish’s twin sister was murdered.
Brightside - The commercial airing on television is for the A.G. Loan Company.
Slumberland - Channel 8 News. Sierra Preston is the anchor.
Son of a Bitch - Wally Redmond mumbles, “Son of a bitch.”
In This Room - Alvie is distracted by a busty blonde (Addelyn Delacroix) passing by the window and heading to the hair salon.
🐊 Music plays an important role throughout the novel. Even though the titles are not named, they serve as either foreshadowing or clues to the plot’s outcome. You can access the playlist by searching for ‘Bodhi Crocodile’ on Youtube.
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Advice they would give new authors?
Get over that initial hump. Too many people, including myself at one time, say they want to write, but when they do, they end up tossing it in the trash because they feel like it's stupid or no go, and no one will read it.
To that, I say, write it anyway. Give it to people to read, people who will give you honest feedback. Hand it out to strangers. Expect criticism and learn from it. After you finish your first story, you'll never doubt yourself again.
