Norman Brewer

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

I live in Portland, Ore., great for food, music and other entertainment. The Northwest is my favorite part of the country and Portland gives me easy access to the shore, rivers to raft and wine country.

When and why did you start writing books?

A few years ago, I needed a retirement project and Blending In: A Tale of Homegrown Terrorism was the result. Now, it seems, my project has put me back to work.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

I'm a retired print journalist and lived in Washington, D.C., for 43 years. That's a different kind of writing, of course, tackled as a product of reporting.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

Anthony Larkin Jr., in January 6: A Novel, goes to the president's rally to accurately document it, convinced the mainstream media will not. Finding himself with the mob in the Capitol, documenting the real story takes an unexpected turn.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

Of my three books (the second was Killer Politics: A Satirical Tale of Homegrown Terrorism), I grew the most with January 6: A Novel.

Who is your favourite author and book?

Author and book, I have to go back to college and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Happily, there's been a lot of great writing since that formative reading experience.

What book are you reading right now?

Candice Millard's Destiny of the Republic. Her handling of the assassination of President Garfield flows with the freshness of a fine novel.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

After another senseless mass shootings - the one at a community college in Oregon, actually - the killer was quickly captured. I wondered how much more dangerous these misguided killers would be if they thoroughly planned their attacks and escapes, and otherwise had regular jobs and quietly blended into their communities. Then, how long would it take to catch them? That inspired Blending In.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Pretty usual stuff, with a lot of travel. I'd like to get back to chess, mediocre as I am.

Do you have any new books in the works?

No, marketing January 6 is keeping me busy. But there hasn't been a time in my experience when we have had as many important issues - global and domestic - worthy of books.