Daughter of evangelist missing-Roland March, Houston homicide detective assisting investigation

According to BackOnMurder.com, Roland March has been with the Houston Police Department as a detective for over ten years.  He is most well known for his involvement in the murder investigation of oil exec Donald Fauk's wife.  Currently Detective March is involved in an investigation that started at a flop house full of dead gang members and has led to the disappearance of Hannah Mayhew, daughter of a mega-church pastor.

Gritty crime investigations, dark alleys, corrupt officials, and beautiful women.  You will find all that and more in J. Mark Bertrand's first crime novel, "Back On Murder."  Readers will be able to grab the book from shelves in July 2010.

In stores now is Bertrand's book written with author Deeanne Gist, "Beguiled." 

You recently collaborated with Deeanne Gist to write "Beguiled."  How is working with a partner different than working on your own?

Well, if you have a romantic scene to write and your co-author happens to be a bestselling romance author, collaborating is a whole lot easier than working alone! I could get the hero and heroine into the same room together and hand the whole thing over to Dee. She got back at me, though: she'd send me a chapter she'd written with notes in the text saying "insert description here." Seriously, collaborating is probably twice as much work as writing a novel solo, because you have to verbalize a lot of things that ordinarily you'd relegate to the subconscious. But the cool thing is, you end up with a story neither one of you could have written alone. That's how "Beguiled" turned out.

 Do you plan on working with Deeanne, or any other author, again in the future?

I doubt either one of us will be doing any collaborating in the short term. It's so much work! Writing one book a year is hard enough. But if the opportunity presented itself and our schedules allowed it, doing another one would be a blast.

 "Back on Murder" is your first published crime novel. What do you think readers will most like about Roland March?

That's a great question. March is not your textbook hero. He's flawed. He's struggling. He doesn't always get things right. And thanks to his line of work, he's not always a joy to be around. What I like about him is his persistence and his tarnished idealism. Like a lot of people who've suffered in life, he can be bristly -- and I love that about him. I've seen reviews where he's described as sympathetic and reviews where he's described as unlikeable. He's probably both. One thing's for sure: he's memorable. And you haven't met a lot of characters like him in Christian fiction.

How are you and March similar?

We share a certain realism about the nature of people and the world that can easily be mistaken for cynicism. Apart from that, it's hard to say. I've often described March as my alter-ego, but the operative word there is alter. I have a lot more in common with some of the other characters in the book.

Crime fiction is a huge market, how does writing from a Christian perspective differ from the general crime fiction genre?

The classic critical explanations for the popularity of detective stories sound very religious: we read these stories, the theory goes, because they depict an idyllic order disrupted by sin (typically murder) and it's up to the detective to restore order. That sounds a lot like the emphasis on creation, fall, and redemption in Christian theology. Personally, though, I've always preferred the noir and hardboiled tradition to the classic Agatha Christie-style tales. Crime fiction lends itself to an exploration of human depravity, and that's something theology is interested in, too.

On a book by book basis, though, I'm not sure what the difference would look like. It depends on the author. A lot of people would say a Christian perspective should result in a cleaner, safer book. That's a theme I take up in "Back on Murder," if you read between the lines. From my point of view, a theological perspective should open up new material to the author, should lend itself to new layers and depths, not restrict them.

I know you have an affinity for Murder By the Book, an independent book seller in Houston. In recent years, "shop local" and "shop independent" have been phrases used to keep money flowing through a local economy. You have also mentioned independent coffee shops on your blog. Have a favorite in Houston?

When we talk about influences, we usually mention particular authors or mentors. I think a bookstore can be an influence, too, and I definitely benefited from living in Houston for so long, a city which is served by one of the best independents, Murder by the Book. I discovered so many great writers on those shelves, people I never would have found out about otherwise.

As far as coffee goes, Houston has some great places. The one I should mention here is Taft Street Coffee, which served in part as the inspiration for the fictional Morgan Street Cafe in Back on Murder. I spent many hours there hanging out with my Houston writer friends. It's a great place to get caffeinated.

Besides more Roland March books, do you have anything else in the works?

There's always something on the back burner, but right now I'm living and breathing March. The second book in the series, Pattern of Wounds, comes out next summer and the third is scheduled for 2011. Hopefully readers will want more of him and the series will continue beyond that.

 Where can readers find you online?

BackonMurder.com features excerpts and more information about Back on Murder and Roland March, including some "extras" that drop hints about future stories. I'm also blogging at CrimeGenre.com, where I blend book news with my own views as a reader and lover of crime fiction.

Follow J. Mark Bertrand on Facebook 

"Beguiled" and "Back on Murder" can be purchased at the following locations in northern California

*Western Christian Book Stores
(510) 832-2040
1618 Franklin St, Oakland, CA 94612

*RDBC Bookstore
(707) 764-3811
100 Butcher St., Rio Dell, CA 95562

*Wayside Christian Bookstores
(916) 787-9977
2230 Sunset Blvd, Ste 340, Rocklin, CA 95765

*Harvest Christian Bookstore
(415) 665-9672
1239 Noriega St San Francisco, CA 94122

*Family Christian Stores #262
(916) 784-7854
300 N Sunrise Ave Ste 100, Roseville, CA 95661-2806

 Until next time...Keep reading!