Patrick Oster on his oh-so-timely IR Approved book, THE HACKER CHRONICLES

The Hacker Chronicles received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.

Following find an interview with author Patrick Oster.

What is the name of the book and when was it published?

The Hacker Chronicles: April 14, 2017

What’s the book’s first line? 

“The shift chief yelled out that it looked like some guy was lying on the ground along the river walk.”

What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.

The adventures of dreamy, wise-cracking millennial hacker who discovers a murder the first night on a new job monitoring surveillance cameras in Chicago and turns himself into the world’s first cyber-detective to solve the crime and save a young damsel falsely suspected of it.

What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event? 

Actual hacking events I learned about as a journalist.

What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?

To see how real the hacking threat is and what might be done to protect yourself against cyber-invaders.

What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character?  Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?

He’s a hacker with a heart.  Most hackers are either all good or all bad. He’s in between, willing to break the law to help people in trouble.

When did you first decide to become an author?

The editor of a non-fiction book I did on Mexico said she thought I had the ability to do something in fiction based on the narrative approach I had used to tell the story of Mexicans.

Is this the first you’ve written?

No. I have two previous thrillers, “The Commuter,” and “The German Club.”

What do you do for work when you’re not writing?

I’ve retired from full-time journalism as a managing editor at Bloomberg News but still do some free lance stories for them — obits about famous rich people.

How much time do you generally spend on your writing?

3-4 days a weeks when not traveling for pleasure.

What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?

Having control over the final product is the good part; having to do all your own marketing is the hardest. It takes a lot of time, but you have to do it.

Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling?  If so, why?

Sure. Anything to get more marketing behind a books helps introduce it to readers.

Which book do you wish you could have written?

“The Secret Agent” by Joseph Conrad.