Before I get to the questions, I have to say that I’m surprised that we haven’t done one of these before–I did post a Q&As with Germaux as part of tours for Hard Court and One by One, but those questions came from the tours. I’m glad I finally got the chance to ask these few questions.

We’re talking about Small Talk and the Daniel Hayes series today, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug the Jeremy Barnes books, too. Where did Jeremy come from, and what would readers want to know about him before they dive in?
Jeremy is my alter ego. As I often tell people, other than the fact that he’s younger, smarter, taller, stronger and has way more hair, you can hardly tell us apart. As for what readers should know before they dive into a Jeremy Barnes mystery, well, JB (a high school English teacher in a previous life) can quote Shakespeare as quickly and easily as he can land a mean left jab, has an irreverent sense of humor and a definite soft spot in his heart for life’s underdogs.

But before you gave us Jeremy, you published Small Talk and introduced us to Daniel Hayes and his team. What was the inspiration for that series and Hays in particular?
Actually, I wrote three books about Jeremy Barnes before I wrote Small Talk. I held off putting those three books on Amazon because my agent at the time had hopes of finding a traditional publisher for them. While he was doing his best in that ultimately unsuccessful endeavor, I came up with the idea of a serial killer novel. Since I couldn’t see a private detective hunting a serial killer as effectively as a police detective who had all the tools of a large urban police department at his disposal, I created my Daniel Hayes character.

Daniel’s not a lone-wolf detective like Bosch or Rebus, he comes with (and works within) a team. While being more realistic isn’t the typical choice for Detective Fiction—why did you make that choice? Talk about the team a bit.
I wanted Daniel to work with a small group of people with diverse backgrounds and talents, a team that could bounce ideas off each other as they searched for the killer. Writing their interactions allowed me to show my readers how the investigation progressed from one level to the next as they closed in on that killer. Each member of the team brings something different to the table. Ted has a long history in local law enforcement, Samantha’s a respected city cop with an FBI contact who helps them in their hunt for the killer, and Henry’s a young suburban cop with great instincts. Together, Daniel (a former pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates) and his team are a classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

Take a moment and compare the two series—what are the limitations and advantages to writing a lone PI and a Police Detective?
Interesting question, H.C. I’ve never really thought about these two series that way. I guess the advantage to writing my Jeremy Barnes books is that I’m able to focus solely on JB’s determination to solve the case, by whatever means necessary, whereas Daniel has to be aware of the legal constraints imposed upon him by the system within which he works. Both he and JB will ultimately get the job done. It’s just that they sometimes take different paths to get there. Again, great question.

Both of your series are based in Pittsburgh, a city that I honestly don’t think I’ve read novels set in before. Is that one of your reasons behind choosing it? What is it about the series that draws you—and why do you think it’s ignored in favor of LA, New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.?
The easiest answer to this question is that old adage: Write what you know. While I’ve been fortunate enough to visit many far-flung locales, from Tahiti to Paris to Rome, I’m a yinzer at heart, born and raised in Pittsburgh. I find the city’s wealth of diverse neighborhoods, from the Oakland area (home to both Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh) to the Hill District (site of many of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle of award-winning plays) to be a treasure trove of fascinating people and places for my novels. The other cities you mentioned do, indeed, get more attention in terms of settings for books, probably because they all have that big city “panache,” but I think we’re seeing more and more books and, especially, movies being set in and around Pittsburgh.

In addition to your mysteries, you’ve put out some humor collections, and two “General Fiction” (for lack of a better term) novels. Are there genres you wouldn’t want to try? What is it about Mystery novels that brings you back to them?
I wouldn’t try to write anything in the horror or supernatural genres. Although I know they’re enormously popular, and I definitely acknowledge and applaud the writers who are successful in those literary categories, I’ve just never been bitten by that particular bug. As for my love of mysteries, it probably goes back to my childhood, when I couldn’t get enough of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. I devoured those books.
Let’s play “Online Bookstore Algorithm” (a game I’ve recently invented). What are 3-5 books whose readers may like Small Talk?
Any of the Spenser novels written by Robert B. Parker, along with Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole books and Harlen Coben’s Myron Bolitar mysteries.

What’s next for Robert Germaux, more Jeremy Barnes, Daniel Hayes, or do you have something else up your sleeve?
I just finished Grammar Sex 3, my third book of humorous essays (I like to call them my Grammar Sex Trilogy), so that will be out soon, along with Leaving the LAW and Speak Softly, two of the early Jeremy Barnes novels. And just recently, I finally figured out the plot for a sixth JB book, so I’ll be getting to work on that.

Thanks for your time and these answers, and I hope both the Jeremy Barns and Daniel Hays books have enough success that you can keep going with them!
Hey, H.C., this has been fun. Thanks!