Mark interviews A.L. Wahdel, a crime thriller writer brings Toronto's soul to life in his fiction. They talk about his new book TOO DARK FOR THE LIGHT, about his writing, about police work, and about the importance of community, connection, and creativity.\

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode's sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report.

In the interview, Mark and Lance talk about:

• Lance's 20 years of experience in the police force and how he had planned on a completely different career path by studying media arts and graphic design
• How people usually ask police officers if they're seen any crazy stuff, but rarely ask if they've seen amazing things
• The power of community and connecting and communicating with people
• "Always be in a constant state of create." A philosophy that drives Lance in his life and writing
• How any time a person creates something it's a gift to the world and the universe
• Lance's earliest experience writing lyrics and music
• Being a huge comic fan, Batman in particular
• The revelation of "write what you know" in creating his first novel TO DARK FOR THE LIGHT
• Finding his writing community via numerous podcasts, YouTube, and other online resources
• Establishing a virtual "mastermind" from the shared writing resources
• Deciding to set his novel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada instead of choosing a "more popular" major US city
• Using Toronto's iconic skyline on the cover to ensure the setting for the book was clear
• Debating over whether or not to begin with Water Kascade's origin story
• The tricky balance of writing an authentic police procedural novel (ie, ignoring those tedious long boring periods of time in the day to day life of law enforcement)
• The training of always being alert and aware as a police officer and how that benefits Lance as a writer
• Some of the things that authors get wrong related to police work
• The integrity involved in releasing the book under the pseudonym A.L. Wahdel so as not to take advantage of his role and employer
• Advice Lance would offer to other authors
• And more . . .

After the interview Mark shares a few reflections about the desire to help others and the value of creativity in giving to the world.

Links of Interest:

• A.L. Wahdel's Website
• A.L. Wahdel on Substack: A Constant State of Create
• Catching up with Dale L. Roberts (Draft2Digital Self-Publishing Insiders)
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• EP 430 - Rambling Reflections from a Lemons to Lemonade Road Trip
• Mark's YouTube channel
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

A.L. Wahdel is an exciting new storyteller in the crime thriller genre, blending gripping suspense with a powerful narrative.

A.L. Wahdel writes with energy about the city that shaped his identity. With an unwavering love for its style and complexity, he brings Toronto's soul to life in every story. Choosing his birthplace as the canvas for his crime series was an intentional act—to honour its essence, celebrate its dynamism, and share the stories that only a true Torontonian writer could tell

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0