The Ballad of John Bondi looks like great western
crime/gangster novel. Any plans to turn
it into a series?
While writing I liked the idea of a self contained story
that didn’t end on a cliffhanger or demand anything else. But the more I think
about it, I really love the universe and world I’ve built and the setting it
lives in. There’s always room for a prequel exploring what was going on before
the story begins, but as far as a sequel? I’d have to say the ending is
particularly final, but I guess you’ll just have to read it to find out if you
agree with me.
What can you tell us about Bondi?
I can’t say that Bondi is a good person, that much is
certain. He’s vain, and prides himself on his beauty. Some may even say he is
the most beautiful man alive. He has the charisma of a drunken outlaw and the
body of a marble statue. On the other hand, he does not have any ambition,
spends his days in a drunken stupor at back room poker games, and is not very
bright. Throughout the novel he has to come to terms with a lot of new
revelations in his life, from being barred from his regular haunts to the loss
of his beauty. Everything he thinks he is will be taken from him, the book is
an exploration of how he will react.
What inspired you when writing The Ballad of John
Bondi?
I’ve always loved crime stories, but have been left
wondering what happens next. They feature these wonderful rise and fall arcs,
from Walter White breaking bad, to Henry Hill joining and ultimately betraying
the mob in Goodfellas. The Ballad of
John Bondi takes place after a rise and fall arc. A drug running and extortion
empire has just fallen, its leader is dead. Now what? Something had to come
next, and what came next was The Ballad
of John Bondi.
Aside from plot, I spent some years as a journalist and
freelance filmmaker in Northern Arizona, and fell in love with the region. The
area has all these abandoned towns stuck in an endless orange and yellow
desert. But there is also a huge pine forest, random oases, and deep
multicolored canyons. As I drove back and forth on Route 66 chasing the next
big story, I was always unsatisfied with the lack of a criminal epic in the
region. Sure there was the occasional murder mystery or bank robbery, but I
wanted more. So I wrote the story I felt the region deserved.
Did anything stick out as particularly challenging when
writing The Ballad of John Bondi?
If I’m being honest with myself, the hardest part of writing
the story was the region. I love Northern Arizona and have explored most all of
its nooks and crannies. Making the conscious decision to not include certain
areas, or force the plot to a spot I loved that was a bit out of the way for
our characters, was a challenge. I had to sit down and say to myself “Okay,
Kingman is great, Monument Valley is great, that one abandoned uranium mine
north of Cameron is great, but there is no reason for our characters to
visit,”. The original outline for the story was more of an insider’s travel
guide to Route 66, and Northern Arizona than an actual plot. Aside from that I
had to turn off my inner Edward Abbey and not go on any flying rants about how
beautiful rocks are and how uranium dust has tainted the land. It just wasn’t
relevant. What came out of that struggle however, is a tightly woven adventure
that hits hard and fast like a steel guitar.
What do you like to do when not writing?
When I’m not writing I spend a lot of time watching films,
reading long form journalism, and exploring. I’ve used my free time to explore
all sorts of places from abandoned Russian churches to art retreats in
Vermillion Cliffs. I just love seeing new things. I also spend time doing
little art projects like making coasters and painting. My next big task is
going to be refurbishing a table with old CD covers.
Where can readers find out more about your work?
Readers can find
more of my work on mkruellemedia.com . It features my best journalism stories,
photography, audio, and short films. I highly recommend anyone interested
checks it out.