Well, I’m old enough to know better, but it hasn’t helped much. Born down south, migrated north in ‘75. Did some college ... did some drinking ... I was a big tech-theater geek (scenery and sound). I’ve been an entrepreneur forever; camera shops, Greenhouses, and then I got into construction.  After seven years with a Twin Cities Building and Plumbing company (as a project and division manager) I started Rite-Way Plumbing.  I sold that business about four years ago.  Been writing ever since.

Muse: Fred, first of all, Whispers of the Muse welcomes you and Ferris’ Bluff to the site. Tell us a little about yourself. What part of the world do you live in? Tell us about your background?
Limberg: Well, I’m old enough to know better, but it hasn’t helped much. Born down south, migrated north in ‘75. Did some college ... did some drinking ... I was a big tech-theater geek (scenery and sound). I’ve been an entrepreneur forever; camera shops, Greenhouses, and then I got into construction.  After seven years with a Twin Cities Building and Plumbing company (as a project and division manager) I started Rite-Way Plumbing.  I sold that business about four years ago.  Been writing ever since.

Muse: Who are your favorite authors?
Limberg: John Sanford, Chuck Logan, Randy Wayne White, Vince Flynn, Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, Larry Brown, Lee Child, Stephen Hunter (his earlier work), Dutch Leonard, Carl Hiassen, and...others.

Muse: Why do you write? And more specifically, why do you write thrillers?
Limberg: After I sold the business and spent a few months fixing things around the house I got bored.  I read well over a hundred books a year, and I told Kelley (my wife), “you know, I think I can write a thriller”.  My first book was a lot of fun, all 200k + words of it.  I’ve learned a bit since then.  Ferris’ Bluff is novel #5.  I don’t think I’m practicing anymore.
  
Muse: What is your writing regimen? How often do you work on a novel? Do you set daily time or word goals? What keeps you meeting your deadlines? 
Limberg: I usually have a couple or three book ideas bouncing around in my head at any given time.  I’m also in various editing stages with three of the books I’ve already written but haven’t queried widely. I don’t like the querying process so I kind of slack on that.  If I’m not writing, I’ll pick one of my books and spend a couple of intense weeks fiddling with it.  When I write - all I do is write.  When I’ve got enough of the book in my head I write the story.  Seven days a week.  Eight or nine hours a day.
  
Muse: Fred, your thriller, Ferris’ Bluff offers an interesting outlook on life. Are you anything like your characters? Does the way you personally look at life reflect in your writing style?
Limberg: I wrote the book as a purely commercial adventure. If I’m like any of my characters it’s Wilson in The Storm Glass (minus the magic ring!). I was born in Arkansas and grew up in an area much like what’s described in Ferris’ Bluff.  Ace is the product of having written four books with fairly real life protagonists.  I decided when I started outlining the book that I’d give in and have a hero that was an ex-something carrying a lot of baggage.

Muse: Tell us about the story in Ferris’ Bluff.
Limberg: Ferris’ Bluff is, at its core, a story like Shane or some of the other classic westerns. .. or maybe one of John MaDonalds ‘Travis Mcgee’ books. The stranger drifts into town for noble, if somewhat misguided reasons, and is drawn into an ongoing drama. He gets maneuvered towards the lovely, lonely widow (which he denies ANY interest in for as long as he can), gets involved with various crimes and situations, and is finally left with no choice but to see the story through.    

Muse: What was your inspiration for this story? 
Limberg: I started this book after spending the later part of last summer reading Larry Brown’s entire list.  I had ‘the South’ in my head and the idea that I could write a literary novel as opposed to another thriller, but ... well ... once you start writing things sort of take off on their own.  Once the thriller gene took over and I decided to let my protagonist be the ex-whatever (as it turned out, an ex- Navy Seal and nebulous undercover operative) it really veered off the literary track.  Then ... it got to be fun! 

Muse: What is your favorite scene in this wonderful novel and why?
Limberg: I think my favorite scene is when Ace and Annie stroll toward town one lovely summer night.  Ace is just-smitten, and when he tells Annie he doesn’t understand how the town was named and that whoever put the memorial park together had punctuation issues, she proceeds to tell him how Ferris’ Bluff got its name.  The Civil War story is all made up but is based on a number of things that happened in the actual area where Ferris’ Bluff is supposedly located.  It’s a tender moment and a helluva believable Civil war yarn.

Muse: Have you written other books?
Limberg: Oh hell yes.  Sneak Thief.  The Storm Glass.  Falling to Pieces.  First Murder.  Ferris’ Bluff is the latest.  I have a major outline ready for a new book involving Buddy Holly’s favorite guitar, a ‘57 Stratocaster lost to history the night his plane crashed in Iowa fifty years ago, and a sequel to The Storm Glass that puts Wilson at odds with Osama Bin Laden, the President (Obama been busy!), and Area 51, where the whole mess with the magic ring started. 

Muse: How do you feel about the current publishing marketplace? Limberg: How do I feel?  Disappointed ... not only for me but for a few other writers whose work I’ve seen this past year.  No one’s taking any chances. Not publishing houses.  Not Agents.  No one.  These are not good times for un-published writers hoping for their debut.  Up until this year I thought I was competing with other new authors for that chance at a contract, but just last week I read some things that made me realize that the publishers seem to be limiting their efforts to proven writers right now, but very good mid-list writers (some with impressive lists!) that have been orphaned by the economic down turn. I don’t feel optimistic, no matter how damn good I (and many, many others) think my books are.