Whiskey Sour (Jack Daniels Mysteries) - Hardcover

Q & A with Joe Konrath

Q: What did you want to be when you are younger?

Joe: I wanted to be a model for husky pants. But then, when I was barely a teen, they stopped making husky sizes.

Damn those clothing designers for shattering my dreams.

Q: When did you decide to become a writer?

Joe: I mean, I'm not offended by the term "husky." Now they're called "relaxed fit" jeans. It's the same thing, but there's nothing sexy about being a "relaxed fit jeans" model. Husky sounds like you're owning those extra pounds, making them work for you. Relaxed fit sounds like you eat too much and are just plain lazy.

What was your question again? Ideas? I hunt through James Patterson's garbage, and steal what he tossed. When Patterson throws out ten pages, that's like fifty chapters.

Ha ha ha! Get it? Because his chapters are so short! I swear, the last Patterson book I read had more chapters than page numbers.

Actually, I just watch old Outer Limits episodes and appropriate the plots, like Alan Moore did with Watchmen.

Q: Who do you like to read?

Blake Crouch, Ann Voss Peterson, Jeff Strand, Henry Perez, F. Paul Wilson, Tom Schreck. Pretty much anyone I collaborate with. Because here's a dirty little secret: when you co-write a book with someone, you kind of have to read the stuff they wrote.

My absolute favorite author is Dr. Seuss. In fact, I tried my hand at writing a few Dr. Seuss-style children's books. Here are the titles:

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE MY WIFE

HORTON HATCHES A TERRORIST PLOT

ON BEYOND DONKEY PUNCH

MARVIN K MOONEY WILL YOU PLEASE DROP DEAD

THE CAT IN THE HAT GETS NEUTERED

GREEN EGGS AND E COLI

THIDWICK THE BIG HEARTED COKE DEALER

MR. BROWN CAN MOO, AND THEY PUT HIM AWAY

THERE'S A WOCKET IN MY POCKET, AND I BLAME CIALIS

BOOMER THE TUMOR

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to sell any of these. I think it may be some sort of rights-issue thing.

Q: What's a work day in the life of Joe Konrath like?

Joe: I wake up early and make some eggs.

Then the smoke alarm goes off, because the eggs are burning because I fell asleep again.

Then I spend ten minutes explaining to the firemen that show up how I'll be more careful next time.

I go back to bed, and the next thing I know, it's around noon. Time for lunch. I want to make an egg sandwich, but I'm out of eggs. And bread. And pretty much everything except some sort of fruit that's been in the refrigerator forever and might be a lime. Or not. It may not even be fruit. So I put it back and think about cooking some pasta but that seems like a lot of work for just lunch, so I go take a nap.

Around three I get up, ready to start my work day, but first I need to eat something. Do pizza places deliver at three? I make a few calls. Nope, no one delivers before five.

I check the fridge. The lime thing is still there, but it looks like it moved from where I saw it last. How odd. Did it move by itself? I'm really hungry, so I decide to give it a try.

It's not a lime, because limes don't have bones.

When I finish eating, I sit down at my computer and write my daily quota, thirty pages.

Q: What's next for Joe Konrath?

Joe: This Spring, Carson's will be releasing my signature scent, called Nocturnal Emission. Available in parfum, eau du toilet, cologne, and roll on. I like the roll on. It tickles my armpits.  My goal is to make enough money to buy Nebraska. Then I'll rename it Joebraska, and invite all of my friends to visit. We're going to have a big party in the state capital, Joemaha. You can come, if you want.

Q: Do you want to talk at all about your books?

Joe: Nope. Not really.

Whiskey Sour is the first book in the Jack Daniels series.

I often get asked by readers what order the Jack Daniels books should be read in. 

I purposely write each book so it can be read without any prior knowledge of any of the others. If you want to start on the last book and work backwards, or start in the middle, you can still enjoy the series without missing anything.

That said, some readers do want a chronological list of events in Jack's life. So here it is.

Besides the eight Jack Daniels novels, Jack and her cohorts have appeared as supporting characters in several other books and stories. Here's the order, from her years as a rookie cop, to the future.

SHOT OF TEQUILA by JA KonrathSERIAL KILLERS UNCUT by JA Konrath and Blake Crouch WHISKEY SOUR by JA KonrathBLOODY MARY by JA KonrathTHE LIST by JA KonrathRUSTY NAIL by JA KonrathDIRTY MARTINI by JA KonrathEXPOSED by JA Konrath and Ann Voss PetersonHIT by JA Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson*NAUGHTY by JA Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson*JACK DANIELS STORIES by JA KonrathPUSHED TOO FAR by Ann Voss PetersonFLEE by JA Konrath and Ann Voss PetersonSPREE by JA Konrath and Ann Voss PetersonTHREE by JA Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson*FLOATERS by JA Konrath and Henry PerezBURNERS by JA Konrath and Henry PerezFUZZY NAVEL by JA KonrathCHERRY BOMB by JA Konrath SHAKEN by JA KonrathSTIRRED by JA Konrath and Blake CrouchLAST CALL by JA Konrath and Blake Crouch*TIMECASTER by JA KonrathTIMESUPERSYMMETRY by JA KonrathTIMECASTER STEAMPUNK by JA Konrath**coming soon

The Jack Daniels books also cross over with several books with my frequent collaborator Blake Crouch, and my pen name, Jack Kilborn. These include:

DESERT PLACES by Blake CrouchLOCKED DOORS by Blake CrouchBREAK YOU by Blake CrouchAFRAID by Jack KilbornTRAPPED by Jack KilbornENDURANCE by Jack Kilborn