Intimate Conversation with Arnold Wolf

Arnold Wolf was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York (East New York/Brownsville to be exact) about half-a-century ago, but now makes his home in Queens, New York where he has lived with his family for about 14 years now.  He is employed as a manager with the MTA in New York City.   As well as writing, Mr. Wolf is an artist and photographer.  As a writer he’s sold articles to Railway Age magazine, Homeland Defense Journal, and Reptile & Amphibian magazine; scripts to Archie and Personality Comics; and short stories to Neo-Opsis magazine, Lost Souls e-zine, and various Sci-Fi and/or horror newsletters and fanzines.  Arnold Wolf considers as his major influences the people and places he's seen and interacted with in New York City over the years.   As far as the writers that he feels that have influenced him the most, they are - in no particular order - Ernest Hemmingway, Robert E. Howard, Lawrence Sanders, Harry Turtledove, Isaac Asimov, and Stephen King.

Ella:  Where are you from? How did you start your writing journey?
 I'm from Brooklyn, NY.  I've always enjoyed reading and writing, my first published work being when I won a writing contest in D.C. Comics.

Ella:  Arnold, introduce us to your book Chickenhawk. Tell us the Intimate Details.
My novel is Chickenhawk; Genre-Crime Fiction; ISBN# 1-4241-7491-0. Synopsis: Eddie Ramos is a cop.  He and his partner, Tommy Cucitti, are detectives in the elite squad known as Manhattan North Homicide.  Eddie’s an old-fashioned kind of cop; heck, Eddie’s an old cop period.  He’s a proud man; proud of being a cop, of having been a cop for a long time, and he’s proud that his marriage has survived the rigors of the job.  All of these things, the things he’s proud of and considers important however are put to the test when young men and boys start winding up dead all over his town, young men and boys that share a common source of livelihood…they’re all prostitutes.

Eddie Ramos doesn’t like cell phones or computers; he trusts paperwork, procedure, and his instincts.  He’s been married to his childhood sweetheart for 30 years, he’s a family man, a church-going Catholic, and he still carries the same 5-shot revolver they gave him when he graduated from the academy.  Tommy Cucitti is younger, brasher, more of a hothead and usually in trouble.  He knows computers and always carries his cell phone.  He’s single and lives with his street-wise Armenian girlfriend; Daphne.  Tommy and Eddie are two different kinds of men that are the same kind of cop; dedicated, hardworking and resourceful.  They’re after a serial killer that manages to stay below their radar while the body count keeps climbing in a city that’s turning into a powder keg. 

 Theodore “Paki” Pakidorapopulos is a successful and well-known writer and columnist for a popular and respected New York City magazine.  He has an impressive house in the trendy section of Eastern Long Island , a beautiful wife, two adorable children, and the respect and admiration of his family, friends, and fans.  He also has a secret.  He has sex with boys and young men.

Paki is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of seemingly happy and satisfied married men that nevertheless troll the streets of New York City searching for young men and boys to satisfy their sexual needs before going home to their unsuspecting wives.  Paki, like the majority of these men, does not consider himself a homosexual and in fact he is well known for his conservative views and has regularly ridiculed gay causes in his column.  He is of course discreet since this particular night-time activity may not sit well with his tony neighbors or the other members of the country club.

Paki’s discreet and genteel life are threatened however when he becomes ill.  He’s never felt so bad in his life and he suspects that he knows what it is.  He fears that he has contracted the AIDS virus from one or more of the young men that he’s paid for sex.  Paki never thought that he’d get sick.  Now everything he’s worked for, everything he’s built will come crashing down around him in a wave of humiliation, mistrust, and accusation.  Paki is incensed and he vows that if he is cursed to die so ignoble a death, then he will take those responsible for making him sick to the grave with him.  Paki’s vow becomes a plan, the plan then becomes action, and people start to die.

Ella:  Who are your two main characters and what do you like most about them?
 My main characters are Eddie Ramos and Tommy Cucitti... they're cops.  I like the way they react to and with each other throughout the book.

Ella:  What makes your book stand out and would entice a reader pick it up?
My novel is very realistic.  In fact a former producer from Forensic Files lauded my novel's realism in an email to me.

Ella:  Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I want them first and foremost to be entertained.

Ella:  What is the most surprising thing you have learned in creating books?
I learned how hard it is for a writer of color to get an agent interested in their work.

Ella:  What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?
Finishing my novel; Chickenhawk.

Ella:  What advice would you give a new writer?
Write, just write, no matter what.

Ella:  Would you change anything about your journey?
Yes.  I'd write more and more often.

Ella:  Name 3 things that it takes to make a successful author, in your opinion?
Lots of reading, writing, persistence and talent.

Ella:  What can we expect from you in the future?
More crime novels of course, but I'm also working on a fantasy novel, a couple of non-fiction books about terrorism, and some short stories in a variety of genres.

My website addresses:
www.authorsden.com/arnoldwolf  
www.myspace.com/arnoldwolf
www.blackauthors.ning.com/arnoldwolf
www.facebook.com/arnoldwolf
www.goodreads.com/arnoldwolf

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