Crafting complex, contradictory characters
Guest Post
Today, we’re pleased to have Steven Max Russo, the author of The Dead Don’t Sleep and Thieves, stop by to chat about his newest, The Debt Collector.
Guest Post: Steven Max Russo
I’m often asked what inspired me to write my latest novel, The Debt Collector. I’ve actually been asked this same question about my previous novel, The Dead Don’t Sleep.
The answer for both novels is the same – fear.
Let me explain. After I finished my debut novel, Thieves, I was afraid that might be the only novel I had in me. Perhaps I was destined to be a “one hit wonder.” So I immediately began work on a second book, just to prove to myself that I could do it. Once I finished The Dead Don’t Sleep, that same nagging thought emerged – what if I can’t write another book? So I began work on what turned out to be The Debt Collector.
Now I’ve got three books published and guess what I’m starting wonder?
So I’m back at it, working on a new novel.
The Debt Collector came out last year and was named a finalist in the 2024 Best Thriller Book Awards from besthrillers.com. It’s a fun, fast-paced crime thriller that is also part mystery.
Abigail Barnes is young, pretty, and petite, but don’t let her small stature or good looks fool you. She’s a collector for bookies, loan sharks, and other people who want to get paid what they're owed.
Running from trouble in Baltimore, Abby arrives in New Jersey looking for work. She gets a job collecting for a low-end bookie in Hoboken, NJ, who is later found bludgeoned to death, his safe open and empty. With investment tycoon Alexander Bayne planning to move his large investment firm from New York’s financial district across the river to Hoboken, pressure mounts from the governor, the mayor, and the police commissioner to solve the murder quickly.
So the cops learn on local crime boss Ronnie “Slacks” Falcone to help find the killer. He learns that Abby was in the bookie’s office near the time of the murder and that puts her directly in his crosshairs. She soon finds herself being hunted by a gang of hoodlums, the mob, and the police. With all these forces allied against her, she knows she can’t run and she won’t turn herself in because even though she didn’t kill the bookie, her checkered past would still guarantee that she be sent to prison.
Abigail has no choice but to find out who killed the bookie – without getting killed herself in the process. The novel combines gritty and intense action, sprinkled with wry humor.
A peculiarity of my writing, at least so far, is that my stories rarely feature characters that can be traditionally characterized as “good guys” or “bad guys” – instead, all of the characters that inhabit my stories can be best described as varying degrees of “bad.”
What I find interesting is when someone does something good for a bad reason, or does something bad for a good reason. I believe that every one of us is capable of both good and evil; sometimes it’s simply a matter of circumstance or environment that dictates how we react to a particular situation.
I like characters that are complex and seemingly contradictory. In The Debt Collector, Abigail Barnes can be sweet and charming and funny, yet in her job collecting debts she is deadly serious and actually enjoys fighting and busting heads.
Another character who surprised me as he evolved was Gino, the mobster enforcer who befriends Abigail. He’s tough, fearless, smarter than he gives himself credit for, can be empathetic yet follows orders much like a soldier, regardless of his own feelings. He could have been successful and happier in any number of careers outside of crime, yet probably fell into the life early on and feels trapped in it. Though not college educated, he reads deeply about issues and topics that he finds interesting. He is somewhat troubled by his job, but doesn’t feel deep down that he deserves better. Neat and tidy, he likes literature, art, philosophy, and cooking, yet he can’t share those interests with others in his circle. He likes and admires Abigail, yet wouldn’t hesitate to take her out if he were ordered to by his boss. He’s the type of character I love; definitely a “bad” guy, but there are also things about him that make him both honorable and endearing in an odd sort of way.
To learn more about my books and my writing, please visit www.stevenmaxrussobooks.com.
For a sample of Russo’s style, check out two flash fiction pieces that have appeared in Mystery Tribune (The Hunted) and (The Retirement Contract).
You can purchase The Debt Collector or borrow on Kindle Unlimited.