Steve Stratton
Caribbean Harvest
Fans of international crime thrillers won’t be able to put down this high-stakes game of cat and mouse.
The Writer’s Dossier 1/15/2024 – The Steve Stratton interview
DOSSIER Update 6/11/2024
Steve Stratton was the very first author I met at my very first writer’s conference, and I remember it like it was yesterday. We were at the San Diego Bouchercon in 2023, and from across the room, Steve pointed right at me and said, “Hey, there’s Jeff Circle, the Dossier guy!” I joined a small table of other authors as Steve introduced me to Joe Goldberg, Jack Stewart, James Brooks, and Michael Carlson. A few minutes later, Simon Gervais walked by, we shook hands, and I snagged a selfie. The experience I had within the first five minutes that day was unexpected and unbelievable, and I’ll always be grateful to Steve for his welcoming smile and kindness to a near stranger. Since then, Steve and I have stayed in contact, often exchanging emails or talking on the phone about things. He’s a genuine, good human, and I’m proud to call him a friend.
Steve was also part of the original eight writers to help me launch the Dossier. Here are two new Dossier questions as Steve launches his latest work, A WARRIOR’S PATH. Please take a moment to check him out!
DOSSIER: You walk into an elevator, turn your head, and see the most popular TV personality in the world who just so happens to do hot book reviews once a week on their wildly popular program. What do you say about your new book A WARRIOR’S PATH that convinces them to stop everything they’re doing and book you to come on their show immediately? You might have thirty seconds … go!
STRATTON: Doors open …
Observe: TV personality
Orient: Walk into elevator, keep appropriate distance, and smile.
Decide: Now or never. (It’s a Patton moment — A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.)
Act: [Appropriate Greeting/Time of Day Stick My Hand Out] “It’s nice to meet you. I’m a fan and appreciate the interesting people and insights you deliver.”
{TV Personality Response}
Me: “I’ve recently seen data suggesting readers are looking for tight, propulsive, but shorter stories they can consume in a few days or a weekend. I have one and would love to explore the trend with you some day.
[Be Prepared. Hand he or she a signed copy of A WARRIOR’S PATH]
{TV Personality Response}
Me: ((Certainly — I’ll have my people call your people — just kidding….)) “Thank you — I will connect with your coordinator, have a great day.”
Doors open — smile and keep the arm pump in my head. Carry on the conversation, only if invited to. 20 seconds of my blabbing — 10 seconds for personality.
And … scene!
STRATTON: I have this plan ready to go for ThrillerFest — not that I expect to use it, but if it shows itself standby for action!
DOSSIER: Your own hot show, STEVE IN CONVERSATION WITH … HOSTED BY AMA ADAIR, is such a cool thing you’re doing. Tell us a little about it, why you started it, and give us a little taste of who we can expect on future episodes.
STRATTON: Thank you, Jeff! The first goal was to provide content for the readers who pre-ordered a copy of A Warrior’s Path. The second was to provide insight into how the military can form a person or strengthen what is already within them. Hence the conversations with other military women and men.
Will we continue the show past the end of June? Unknown. I’d like to and focus on those things we learn and or grow in the military, like grit, the power of teamwork, honest self-assessment, understanding the need for continuous learning, leadership — teams and ourselves, cultural awareness, etc.
The Writer’s Dossier 7/28/2023 – The Big Steve Stratton interview
DOSSIER: After you learned how to make hot toddys for President Gerald Ford, did your friends and family start requesting them, along with the story of when you served the president?
STRATTON: Not so much… I had a pretty low brow tribe at the time. Beer, Beam and Coke, case of Budweiser/PBR, and anything someone else bought.
DOSSIER: The D.C. Beltway is tough, but how did your time with the White House Communications Agency and the Secret Service prepare you get through the Army Green Beret qualification?
STRATTON: I got more experience with the grind. Not everything was roses or fun on advance trips. Gear breaks down, people don’t show up or at the wrong spot with no weapon. Wait what???? It also ramped up my MacGyver mindset. Assess the issue, determine what resources you have and make it work. Beside problem solving, I was more prepared than most of my peers when it came to working with government and military staff from other countries. That an feeling at ease in the presence of Presidents, Prime Ministers and their very wealthy donors.
DOSSIER: You prefer writing in a quiet environment, but do you need absolute silence or can there be music playing in the background?
STRATTON: Yes! Mostly quiet or like now with the sounds of the water fountain outside my window. From time to time, there is music that ranges from 60’s till now rock, to opera, and movie soundtracks.
DOSSIER: Now that your second Shadow Tier novel is out with SHADOW SANCTION, what is next for Lance Bear Wolf?
STRATTON: Good question. I have a 90% complete book that drags the team into a bio-weapons threat and a 50% story that has Wolf chasing El Chapo to Cuba. But wait, there’s more… I also have a plot for book five. But it’s classified and I’d have to.. Sorry I can’t tell you since the mode of your demise is the result of a special access program out of the Intelligence Advanced Research Agency.
DOSSIER: What’s better about going to ThrillerFest and Bouchercon? Hanging out with Andrews and Wilson or dinner and drinks with David Temple?
STRATTON: Being greedy and doing both. I learn so much, that I feel like SpongeSteve… where are my SquarePants????
Learn more about Steve at: Facebook | Instagram | X | Steven Stratton | Amazon author page