Author discusses his latest novel at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore

During a live in-store presentation at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, lawyer-turned-author Parker Adams clued guests in about his latest fictional thriller, “The Lock Box,” discussing the artistry of novel writing.

Adams, a pseudonym for Joe Reid, was quizzed on March 18 at the Midway District bookstore at 3555 Rosecrans St. by fellow novelist Carl Vonderau about his latest book about an Army vet-turned-safecracker. The event involved a 30-minute discussion followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing.

The son of a Navy helicopter pilot, Adams chased great white sharks as a marine biologist before becoming a patent lawyer who litigates multimillion-dollar cases for high-tech clients. In his spare time, he writes high-stakes thrillers that feature travel and technology, including the best-selling Seth Walker series (as Joseph Reid).

Vonderau is a former banker and anti-money laundering specialist turned crime fiction writer. “Saving Myles” is his latest novel. Both authors are married and live in San Diego.

Adams characterized his latest novel as a “heist thriller” about L.A.’s finest female safecracker, a single mom who gets ambushed and kidnapped along with her son and forced to participate in a crime perpetrated by her captors. He said his new book is a departure from his Seth Walker series, the setting of which is airplanes and airports.

“How was it to write from a female point of view?,” asked Vonderau of Adams who replied: “It was hard. It was different. I have a lot of very strong opinionated women in my life who tell me if I’m getting stuff wrong. And that helps.”

Vonderau referenced Adams’ interesting characteristics in his heist thriller all named for playing cards. He asked him how he developed them. “If you’re going to have a heist you have to have a crew,” Adams replied adding, “So you build the crew according to what they need to do. They each have a code name (in his book) for playing cards, King, Queen, Jack, etc.”

Vonderau asked Adams if he knew about safecracking at all before writing his novel. “You get into the mechanics of it,” pointed out Vonderau. “Tell us how you got all that knowledge.”

“I wrote this one mostly during COVID,” noted Adams adding, “There is a national safecracking contest every year, and they race to see who can crack the safe the fastest. And so there are videos of these guys online. So I studied that.”

Asked about the “process” he employs when writing, Adams responded: “I start with a two- or three-page synopsis and that gives you the beginning and the end and a few things in the middle. And then it’s getting between those different milestones … I know I need to hit this action scene at this point, or this character moment at that point.”

Asked about balancing fictional writing with practicing law, Adams pointed out he gets up early in the morning and writes/edits before starting his full-time day job as a practicing attorney. He also works weekends. “When I’m writing I try to do seven days a week,” Adams said. “However many days you skip, that’s how many days it takes you to get back in the groove. So I write every day, even if it’s just a little bit.”

“That’s the dramatic life of a writer, it just never ends,” noted Vonderau.

“What was the hardest thing about writing this book?,” asked Vonderau of Adams. “There are some pretty dark characters,” answered Adams adding, “As a writer you think, “Can I go there?’ And that’s exciting, fun, and scary. Writing from a woman’s perspective was exciting and scary.”

Discussing what he’s planning on writing next, Adams said he’s contemplating a possible sequel to “The Lock Box.” “In case the world is not ready for another heist thriller, I’ve got an espionage thing I’m working on in San Diego over on Coronado,” he said.

For more information, visit mystgalaxy.com.