Douglas Dorow's The Ninth District is a thriller about an attempt to rob the Federal Reserve, specifically, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Minnesota which serves the Ninth District (hence the title). It is the first book in a three-part series that will feature FBI Special Agent Jack Miller. Followers of Michael Connelly, John Sanford and Lee Child will especially enjoy this book.
CELEBRATING MINNESOTA, THE LAND OF 10,000 LAKES
A long-time resident of Minneapolis, himself, Dorow has exploited this Midwest setting, to its fullest. The action takes place in the summer, a season that offers rain, thunderstorms, and heat. "Weather is always part of the conversation, here," Dorow explains, "since we have all four seasons and experience sharp extremes in temperature, from short hot summers to long cold winters." Given the brief summers, most people try to fully enjoy the great outdoors, taking advantage of biking and running trails (Dorow is an avid runner, he has completed three marathons) as well as boating and fishing on the state's numerous lakes.
CELEBRATING MINNESOTA, THE LAND OF 10,000 LAKES
A long-time resident of Minneapolis, himself, Dorow has exploited this Midwest setting, to its fullest. The action takes place in the summer, a season that offers rain, thunderstorms, and heat. "Weather is always part of the conversation, here," Dorow explains, "since we have all four seasons and experience sharp extremes in temperature, from short hot summers to long cold winters." Given the brief summers, most people try to fully enjoy the great outdoors, taking advantage of biking and running trails (Dorow is an avid runner, he has completed three marathons) as well as boating and fishing on the state's numerous lakes.
In his novel, readers travel from downtown Minneapolis to scenic Lake Minnetonka, a large lake west of the city. Dorow also featured the underground sewers and tunnels that run under Minneapolis—their existence is not well known, but using them for criminal activity is not without precedence. "There are old limestone caves in St. Paul that were rumored to have been used as illegal Speakeasies during prohibition," he shared.
SEEING THE FBI AS HEROIC
Also unique is Dorow's decision to have an FBI agent be the hero. "Too often, especially in film, the FBI is portrayed as bumbling idiots as they work with local law enforcement." Dorow wanted to show them as dedicated professionals. He was inspired by an old grad school roommate of his who changed careers, going from accounting to becoming an FBI Special Agent. Dorow was able to pick his brain on how agents interact as well as visit an FBI field office. He may have also been influenced by fond memories of watching the TV series The F.B.I., starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., as a child with his father.
To contrast his hero, Dorow created an utterly vicious thug known as the Governor. In his opinion, a good villain is extremely important in a thriller. "The villain needs to be your hero's equal, or even better, so that your hero has a daunting challenge. There should be some doubt about whether the hero will prevail." He believes that the best villains are human, rather than one dimensional cartoons. Although Dorow establishes in the first scene that the Governor is fully capable of evil, he still strove to give this character some redeeming qualities, a few positive attributes that a reader could relate to or even admire, later in the story arc.
Dorow is especially suited to crafting the intricate plotlines expected of thriller/mystery genre given his engineering background and his current IT Manager position. He has a deeply analytical nature that is revealed when he was just casually discussing eBook technology, marketing and the future of publishing.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR eBOOKS?
In his own personal experience, Dorow had always been a big reader, but he preferred paperbacks to hard cover editions, since they were easier to lug around. He was initially doubtful that he'd like to read eBooks, but his wife bought him a Kindle in the spring of 2010 and he quickly became a convert. He actually now prefers eBooks to paperbacks. He loves the portability, the fact that the single lightweight Kindle holds numerous books as well as the ease of purchasing new books. He's also a fan of the syncing ability of mobile devices. He can read a book on his Kindle in the evening and the next day, say at his son's hockey practice, he can continue reading, where he left off, on his iphone. He also uses his Kindle to look up words, highlight, and to make notes for a future book review.
He sees a future that will be a mixture of traditional and indie publishing. People are used to going into a bookstore and picking up a book from the new release shelf. "Now, with eBooks, the shelf that they're browsing has grown a lot bigger." Sampling has replaced picking up a book and reading a few pages. Dorow regretfully has given up on some of his favorite traditional authors when their eBooks cost more than the paperback versions, but he also has discovered so many new indie authors that he can't read fast enough to keep up.
Dorow says that eReader sales started with people who were already comfortable with technology and looking for the increased convenience of eBooks. Dorow thinks that the demographic age of the eReader owner is moving both older and younger from the original adopters. "The older reader is looking to consolidate their libraries and save room as they downsize their housing. They also enjoy the ability to change the font selection and size to make it easier to read. Younger readers will be attracted to the color and touch screen options as authors discover ways to incorporate those eReader features into books that make reading more game-like for that audience."
The biggest challenge for both traditional and indie authors will be how to present themselves so that new readers can discover them, according to Dorow. He's sees tools that help readers find the type of books that interest them continuing to rise in popularity such as Goodreads, and similar forums/sites. There is also a lot of experimentation going on right now with authors trying Social Media, partnering with other authors, online promotions, virtual book tours on blogger sites and trying different pricing strategies. Dorow stresses that authors need to remain open to trying new marketing techniques in order to find the ones that work. Overall, he remains optimistic that this new medium of eBooks ultimately will benefit both authors and readers.
SEEING THE FBI AS HEROIC
Also unique is Dorow's decision to have an FBI agent be the hero. "Too often, especially in film, the FBI is portrayed as bumbling idiots as they work with local law enforcement." Dorow wanted to show them as dedicated professionals. He was inspired by an old grad school roommate of his who changed careers, going from accounting to becoming an FBI Special Agent. Dorow was able to pick his brain on how agents interact as well as visit an FBI field office. He may have also been influenced by fond memories of watching the TV series The F.B.I., starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., as a child with his father.
To contrast his hero, Dorow created an utterly vicious thug known as the Governor. In his opinion, a good villain is extremely important in a thriller. "The villain needs to be your hero's equal, or even better, so that your hero has a daunting challenge. There should be some doubt about whether the hero will prevail." He believes that the best villains are human, rather than one dimensional cartoons. Although Dorow establishes in the first scene that the Governor is fully capable of evil, he still strove to give this character some redeeming qualities, a few positive attributes that a reader could relate to or even admire, later in the story arc.
Dorow is especially suited to crafting the intricate plotlines expected of thriller/mystery genre given his engineering background and his current IT Manager position. He has a deeply analytical nature that is revealed when he was just casually discussing eBook technology, marketing and the future of publishing.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR eBOOKS?
In his own personal experience, Dorow had always been a big reader, but he preferred paperbacks to hard cover editions, since they were easier to lug around. He was initially doubtful that he'd like to read eBooks, but his wife bought him a Kindle in the spring of 2010 and he quickly became a convert. He actually now prefers eBooks to paperbacks. He loves the portability, the fact that the single lightweight Kindle holds numerous books as well as the ease of purchasing new books. He's also a fan of the syncing ability of mobile devices. He can read a book on his Kindle in the evening and the next day, say at his son's hockey practice, he can continue reading, where he left off, on his iphone. He also uses his Kindle to look up words, highlight, and to make notes for a future book review.
He sees a future that will be a mixture of traditional and indie publishing. People are used to going into a bookstore and picking up a book from the new release shelf. "Now, with eBooks, the shelf that they're browsing has grown a lot bigger." Sampling has replaced picking up a book and reading a few pages. Dorow regretfully has given up on some of his favorite traditional authors when their eBooks cost more than the paperback versions, but he also has discovered so many new indie authors that he can't read fast enough to keep up.
Dorow says that eReader sales started with people who were already comfortable with technology and looking for the increased convenience of eBooks. Dorow thinks that the demographic age of the eReader owner is moving both older and younger from the original adopters. "The older reader is looking to consolidate their libraries and save room as they downsize their housing. They also enjoy the ability to change the font selection and size to make it easier to read. Younger readers will be attracted to the color and touch screen options as authors discover ways to incorporate those eReader features into books that make reading more game-like for that audience."
The biggest challenge for both traditional and indie authors will be how to present themselves so that new readers can discover them, according to Dorow. He's sees tools that help readers find the type of books that interest them continuing to rise in popularity such as Goodreads, and similar forums/sites. There is also a lot of experimentation going on right now with authors trying Social Media, partnering with other authors, online promotions, virtual book tours on blogger sites and trying different pricing strategies. Dorow stresses that authors need to remain open to trying new marketing techniques in order to find the ones that work. Overall, he remains optimistic that this new medium of eBooks ultimately will benefit both authors and readers.
Douglas Dorow is one of nine authors being featured in the WoMen's Literary Cafe's Mystery Book Launch Event. Be sure to visit Tuesday, December 13th - Thursday, December 15th and load your Kindle!
Dorow's Links:
Twitter @DougDorow
Douglas Dorow Facebook Author Page
Author Website
Blog: Thrillers 4 U
Goodreads Author Page
Independent Author Network Page
The Ninth District : Kindle
The Ninth District : Nook
Dorow's Links:
Twitter @DougDorow
Douglas Dorow Facebook Author Page
Author Website
Blog: Thrillers 4 U
Goodreads Author Page
Independent Author Network Page
The Ninth District : Kindle
The Ninth District : Nook
