Hot Air received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Charlie Suisman.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Hot Air, published October 26, 2021
What’s the book’s first line?
The fact of the matter is, somebody stole the statue of Hezekiah Hesper, and for months nobody noticed.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
It’s the second book in the Arnold Falls series, taking place in summer six months after book one. There’s a proposal afoot to change Arnold Falls’ name (for a cash payout). Town memorabilia is going missing in the dark of night. And what is happening at the hospital? Something definitely not good. Everyone and everything seems to be having an identity crisis of one kind or another. Will the town get its memorabilia back? Will it get its name back? Will it get its mojo back? Probably, but, as always in Arnold Falls, they’ll take the long way home and they will definitely stop for doughnuts.
I began Arnold Falls, the first book in the series, a couple of weeks after the presidential election of 2016 and I was thinking a lot about the idea of community. I was living in a small town in the Hudson Valley (absolutely no relation to Arnold Falls, of course) and it struck me how central the idea of community can be to whether a city or town is a ‘good place to live.’ And I thought about a town that doesn’t come equipped with much money or many amenities, struggling to get by. How laziness and greed and pettiness can get in the way of doing the right thing, and yet sometimes the right thing gets done all the same. There’s a bit of quiet generosity from an unexpected place, a kind word in passing, a fumbling show of support — much of it hidden beneath the surface of unsentimental daily life. And that got me to the idea (with some real-world events) of a woman running for mayor to overthrow the old boy’s network.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
The characters are the stars of the Arnold Falls series. So if you’d like some laughs from a cozy comedy with crazy characters, this is the book for you.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
The main character, Jeebie Walker, is a gay man in his early 40s, a voice-over artist, who is excellent at solving everyone’s problems except his own. He’s a great friend but not always able to see the forest for the trees. Part of his journey in the series is broadening his perspective and widening his empathy.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
It’s hard for me to quantify. Once I’ve started a book, much of the time is spent thinking about the arc of the story, the characters, and listening to them speak. I sit down every day before the sun rises and write something for the novel. It then goes through a churning scrutiny as the day goes on, and I often make notes or jump back on the computer and write more or edit. If a scene is going to work there’s going to be a surprise in it for me — something I didn’t plan out — that a character says or does that is true to them. Almost always, it’s the best part of the scene and shapes the arc in ways I didn’t expect. Each day is a mix of plodding, reflection, and despair lol.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Don Quixote. It’s so ahead of time, so brilliant on so many levels, and so funny.