Vincent Zandri is the acclaimed New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 16 novels, including The Innocent, Godchild, The Remains, Moonlight Rises, and recently, Everything Burns. He also is the author of numerous Amazon bestselling digital shorts — Pathological, True Stories, and Moonlight Mafia among them.
Harlan Coben described The Innocent (formerly As Catch Can) as “…gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting,” while the New York Post called it “Sensational…Masterful…Brilliant!” In December 2014, Suspense Magazine named Zandri’s The Shroud Key one of the “Best Books of 2014.” His novel Moonlight Weeps has been nominated by International Thriller Writers (ITW) for the 2015 Best Paperback Original.
Zandri’s list of domestic publishers include Delacorte, Dell, Down & Out Books, Thomas & Mercer, and Polis Books, while his foreign publisher is Meme Publishers of Milan and Paris. An MFA in Writing graduate of Vermont College, Zandri’s work is translated in Dutch, Russian, French, Italian, and Japanese.
Bestselling mystery-thriller author Vincent Zandri
Recently, Zandri was the subject of a major feature by the New York Times. He also has appeared on Bloomberg TV and FOX News. And Amazon recognized him in a profile piece for his sensational success on their publishing platform. A freelance photo-journalist and author of the popular “lit blog,” The Vincent Zandri Vox, he has written for Living Ready Magazine, RT, New York Newsday, Hudson Valley Magazine, The Times Union (Albany), Game & Fish Magazine, and many more.
These days, Vincent Zandri is a resident of both New York and Florence, Italy. I’m grateful that he took time from his prolific writing and promotional schedule to answer questions for The Vigilante Author.
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The Vigilante Author: Hi, Vince. Thanks so much for getting together with me. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. When I was first getting started back in 2011, you were one of my heroes, already burning up the bestseller lists. We’ll chat about your career and works in a moment. First, though, tell us about your latest book. I hear it’s been doing gangbusters in sales.
Vincent Zandri: Hi there, Robert. My latest is Everything Burns. It was released by Thomas & Mercer [an Amazon Publishing imprint] in January of this year. It was also selected by the editors for the Kindle First program, which netted something like 250,000 units moved.
The Vigilante Author: That’s incredible for a book that’s been out only a few months! And I see that it’s also garnered nearly 1,700 customer reviews in that brief period, which is just mind-blowing. So, what’s the book about?
Vincent Zandri: It’s about a writer who happens to be a pyromaniac and who gets back together with his ex-wife — only to discover that her former lover, also a writer, is not taking their reunion all too well. What ensues is a burning plot of deception, harassment, and eventually, murder. My most literary endeavor to date, I might say.
The Vigilante Author: So was this story a genre departure for you?
Vincent Zandri: I write in several different genres. I’m most known for my standalone novels like The Remains and Everything Burns, which are psychological thrillers, but I also write hardboiled detective books, like the Dick Moonlight P.I. series and the Jack Marconi series. I’ve also had good luck with the Chase Baker action/adventure series, which takes me all over the world on research missions.
The Vigilante Author: I’m drooling. That’s got to be every writer’s fantasy: getting paid to travel the world and write fiction. Well, you’ve paid your dues and earned that lifestyle, Vince.
How would you describe the heroes of your tales? What characteristics do they have in common, and what things differentiate them?
Vincent Zandri: Dick Moonlight is unique in that he has a small piece of hollow point bullet lodged in his brain from a botched suicide attempt, and he could die at any moment, which is why he stops at nothing in order to get at the truth. Jack Marconi used to be a maximum security prison warden, which makes him different. And Chase Baker, like me, resides in both New York and Florence, Italy. He’s also a former excavator (sandhog), and he’s always on the go to some godforsaken part of the globe in search of an elusive treasure. He’s also unlucky at love.
The Vigilante Author: I’m sure that readers are now thoroughly intrigued, wondering about the background of a guy who could conjure stories and characters this diverse. So tell us a little about your early life.
Photo (c) by Debbie Scott
