Bookpleasures.com is excited to introduce Carl Vonderau, an accomplished author in the world of crime fiction.

With his upcoming novel, Saving Myles, slated for release in August 2023, he continues to captivate readers with his thrilling narratives.

Hailing from Cleveland, Carl's passion for writing emerged during his childhood, where he astounded his peers with chilling ghost stories. However, his journey to becoming a full-time author was a gradual one.

After leaving his hometown, he pursued higher education at Stanford University, immersing himself in a world of knowledge and creativity.

His unique perspective on storytelling comes from his extensive banking experience, spanning over three decades in the United States, Latin America, and North Africa.

The rich and diverse international settings he has encountered throughout his career have served as wellsprings of inspiration for his literary works.

Murderabilia, his debut novel, was quickly recognized and awarded in 2019, receiving the prestigious Left Coast Crime award for Best Debut and the San Diego Book award for Best Mystery.

This early success established him as a formidable talent in the genre, solidifying his reputation as an author who seamlessly blends suspense, intrigue, and masterful storytelling.

As we eagerly await the release of Saving Myles, we invite you to join us in this exclusive interview, where we delve into Carl's creative process, the themes that drive his work, and the experiences that have shaped his remarkable literary career.

Norm: Good day Carl and thanks for taking part in our interview.

What inspired you to write a story about the tough choice of sending a child to a treatment center and the challenges the family faces afterward?

Carl: My family went through some of this almost twenty years ago. I’ve also known a number of other people who had to send their kids to residential treatment centers for behavioral issues.

At some point a child’s troubles get beyond the parents’ ability to help him or her.

Forcefully sending that teenager to a treatment center is one of the biggest traumas a family will ever experience—for the kid as well as for the parents and other siblings. 

I wanted to bring the messy and conflicting emotions that come out of that ordeal to the book.

After the teenager Myles returns home, the family problems are still there.

The parents know that they may have saved his life but also think he may never forgive them for sending him away.

Myles realizes that the parents had no choice but still resents them.

His year away has taught him new powers that he uses to both thrive at school and to more subtly rebel against them.

At the same time he wants to be closer to his father.

Norm: Can you give us a glimpse into your writing process? How did you structure the plot and develop the characters to create an interesting and suspenseful story?

Carl: I did a fair amount of research. My friend, the author Kimberley Howe, writes about kidnapping educated me.

I also talked with the FBI and read extensively about what can happen in Mexico.

Kidnapping is a cruel and tragic business there. I spoke to two people in the DEA who assisted me with background on drug cartels and money laundering.

I also joined the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), an organization of people in banking and other industries who work to eliminate money laundering in their places of business.

I took courses and went to seminars at ACAMS. That and my background in banking helped me understand the different facets of money laundering.

Each of those—placement, layering, and integration—is in the book.

But the ultimate form of money laundering is for the children of a criminal family to transcend crime and become leaders in society. Joseph Kennedy was a bootlegger, and his son was president.

The other research I did was around women who left their husbands. I read Esther Pearel’s writing, as well as other accounts, to understand and sympathize with the reasons a woman would reject her husband and take up with a much younger man.

I think Fiona was my favorite character in the book.

Norm: Can you explain the inspiration behind, including a kidnapping and a charity organization in the plot?

Carl: I liked the idea of a kidnapping in Mexico because it mirrored the parents forcing their son to go to a treatment center.

The second kidnapping in Mexico also allowed me to introduce other pressures.

The parents didn’t have the money for the ransom and only a sketchy bank would lend it to them.

What would the kidnappers do to Myles even if they somehow came up with the ransom?

I have done a fair amount of work with nonprofits. Charities are another way in which people launder money.

They can make donations worldwide without much scrutiny, and can secretly funnel illegal funds to the founders of the charity.

Having Fiona work for a foundation allowed me to give her a profession different than her husband’s, one in which she too could be pressured by what she had to do.

The nonprofit’s purpose of helping street children also complements her love for her son.

Norm: The character of André, a former kidnap victim and husband of a Mexican woman, adds an intriguing element to the plot. What motivated you to create this character, and how does he contribute to the overall narrative?

Carl: I love multiple cultures in thrillers. I lived in Montreal for many years and handled Latin America and North Africa. So I’m familiar with how people straddle different customs.

Andre is a Quebecois with a mysterious past who has been adopted by the criminal family of the Mexican woman he married.

Those cultures conflict and mesh in him and in the daughter he is devoted to. He also believes in the principles of alchemy.

When I read about it, I learned that alchemists must evolve spiritually in order to turn lead into gold. It seemed like the perfect metaphor for how Andre tries to launder himself and his family into something good.

He is caught between the ruthlessness of his wife’s cartel family and his own yearning to rise to a higher spiritual plane.

That’s why throughout the book the characters are never sure which side Andre is on. He, like Wade and his family, is imprisoned by his past.

Andre and his wife are united in one thing. Both hope that their daughter, Sofia, can escape their criminal life.

Norm: Could you elaborate on the relationship between Wade and Fiona, specifically regarding their divergent views on seeking assistance from André and his bank?

Carl: Fiona is drawn to helping children, just as she has always helped her difficult son. She feels that sending Myles to a treatment center is a reflection of her bad parenting.

She also believes that Andre, with his connections in Mexico and his spiritual view of life, can help them more than Wade or the FBI. Andre holds the same ideals that she does.

Wade tries not to think about how his absent fathering contributed to Myles going off the rails. He knows that Andre is the kind of man his wife thinks he should be.

He is threatened by Andre. He also knows that Andre’s bank is probably involved in crime. If Andre helps him, he will never escape the payment that Andre will demand in return. But he mutes his worries because he loves Fiona and because they have no other choice.

The story gains another dimension with the romance between Myles and André's daughter. What role does this relationship play in the overall plot, and how does it impact the characters involved?

Myles and Sofia both add an element of heroic idealism to the story. Their parents have grown more cynical and think that some things are more important than love.

The two teenagers think that love is everything. The problems love causes are secondary. But their idealism also rejuvenates their parents.

I made both kids be at opposite ends of achievement at La Jolla High. It was fun to have the cartel daughter be the high performer who has been accepted to Stanford, and the son of the banker be the one who does not do well at school. 

Norm: How did you approach the portrayal of the FBI and DEA agents, and how do their actions and pressures influence Wade's decisions throughout the story?

Carl: The objective of the FBI and DEA is to bring down the families in charge of a drug cartel. That means they must use the people who have been drawn into the cartel’s influence.

They can protect that family but can’t sympathize too much with them. The agents can’t afford to even consider what might happen to Andre and Carmela’s innocent daughter.

Wade grows to understand this conflict. He tries to do enough to satisfy the agents while keeping his family safe. But the agents keep requiring more.

Wade suspects that their demands will only end when something disastrous happens to his family. This serves to ramp up the danger in the story.

Norm: The setting of Tijuana brings a sense of danger and suspense to the narrative. Can you discuss the significance of this location and how it affects the plot and characters?

Carl: Tijuana can be both very beautiful and luxurious, as well as very economically deprived. I used both extremes in the book. My friends at the YMCA in Tijuana helped me scout out locations to use as models. 

Coahuila Street is a downtown area and has mariachi bands, sushi restaurants, and a church. Scores of prostitutes beckon from doorways and work in strip clubs.

People there scratch out a living in a ruthless kind of economy. That seemed like a good place to portray where a drug cartel might thrive.

And where Martinez, one of the antagonists, had to grow up and develop his own sense of morality. 

The poor barrios in Tijuana have houses cobbled together with scavenged doors, windows, truck tires and scraps of wood and metal.

It is an environment totally foreign to my banker, Wade.

It is a dangerous world he is forced to go to to rescue his son. In a way he is still in that foreign world when he works with Andre at Andre's bank.

It is also the place where Fiona’s charity is located, and where children can grow up safely when they are protected.

The rich world is atop a hill in Tijuana. I have pictures of these enormous compounds surrounded by walls and with guards in cars on the street.

Behind the walls I can imagine a sanctuary of gardens and luxurious living. The rich live above the rest of the city in their own Mount Olympus. It is where criminals dream of ascending to.  

Norm: Were there any particular challenges you encountered while writing this book, and how did you overcome them?

Carl: Originally I only wrote this in the Wade’s point of view. When I described it to my agent, Michelle Richter, she told me how much she really liked stories with multiple POVs.

You can imagine my reaction. Oh shit! But I accepted the challenge. The first POV to tackle was Fiona, the wife.

I had to try to think as if I were female and sympathize with her wounds and why she would withdraw from her husband. At first I didn’t intend to have much of Myles’ POV.

I thought I was too old to portray a teenager. Then my writing coach said I really needed to include more of him.

I read a lot about teenagers, watched teen series on TV, and tried to get more into that mindset. At first there was too much slang.

My writing coach said my readers shouldn’t need a dictionary to understand Myles. Then she asked who my readers were—teenagers or middle-aged people like me? 

So I drew back a little and tried to mostly express Myles’ young mind through his idealism and the lessons he’d learned at his treatment center. He uses those lessons both to negotiate his predicaments and to manipulate his parents. 

Norm: Are there any plans for a sequel or future projects related to the characters or themes explored in this book?

Carl: I can see how a sequel might spring from the epilogue. But I have no plans at this point. My next book has completely different characters, but it also takes place in the banking industry.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and your crime novels?

Carl: Please consult my WEBSITE. You can subscribe to my newsletter there and find out more about my fiction, my take on financial crimes, nonprofit work, and other books I like. 

Also please follow me on Instagram and Facebook at Carl Vonderau.

Norm: As we end this interview, what do you hope readers will remember or take away from Saving Myles once they've finished reading it?

Carl: I hope they will empathize with the pressures that tear apart a family. Confronting those threats glues them back together.

I also hope they will feel something for all the characters; no one is totally a villain. And of course I want them to be so entertained and emotionally invested that they can’t stop turning the pages.

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors