Overnight Delivery

A Hank Anderson Thriller

Raymond Parish, author of four nonfiction books, self-published his debut thriller novel in November. Here’s a synopsis:

Small of stature but big of heart, psychotherapist Hank Anderson has a gift for helping clients face serious issues and heal life-altering traumas. But this talent intersects with darker truths, an insatiable curiosity and a life-long penchant for personal risk that will soon threaten to violently shatter every aspect of Hank’s life.

Kenny Jensen is just the kind of client that piques Hank’s appetite for intrigue. Referred by Hank’s imposing friend Detective Phil Evans, Kenny is a delivery man and a thief. He readily admits to the crime that led to his recent arrest, and his rambling origin story of family addiction resonates with Anderson’s own history. But at the end of his first session Kenny hints at a more terrifying reality, one that becomes a threat to Hank’s precious daughter, the ex-wife he still pines for, his aging father, and his beloved and beleaguered colleagues. Kenny is the catalyst for Hank’s descent into a world of drugs and death that hides just beneath the surface of his town’s Midwestern calm and conservatism. His compulsion to help Kenny pull himself from the chaos runs Hank full speed into desperate people willing to remove any obstacle – or person – that stands in their path.

Hank is compelled to uncover the truth and guide Kenny to safety, but at what cost to himself and those he loves?

You can tweet this suspense & thriller author at @ParishAuthor or ask him questions on Goodreads Author Raymond Parish.

Raymond’s Interview

Do you consider yourself (1) an introvert OR (2) an extrovert?

I present a workshop to counseling professionals, Introversion in an Extroverted World, so this is a topic of great interest to me. I am an introvert. I love being with people, especially individuals and in small groups. I love to interact with audiences, yet don’t enjoy the free style social events after a meeting or conference. Large gatherings, even those I chose freely and fully engage in, deplete my energy and I replenish in more solitary activities: writing, bicycling, playing guitar, and mowing my lawn with headphones tuned to anything from Motown to progressive rock.

It’s essential to my life that I have close relationships with introverts and extroverts. My introverted companions can quietly join me for a concert, and listen to all of the music. We can hike or bike in silence. My extroverted friends and family keep me from spending too much time inside of myself. They are catalysts for the noisier, fun-loving, adventuresome parts of who I am.

Introspective insight!

You prefer (1) to eat a home-cooked meal with family and friends OR (2) to eat in a big-name restaurant?

Most definitely a home-cooked meal with family and friends. Some of my most memorable times with loved ones are the meals when time was suspended; we had no where else to be and just the right people had come together. In particular, helping to prepare and then serving a meal to people I care about and enjoy is an immense pleasure. My adolescence and young adulthood included years in the restaurant business, and I still get a kick out of providing simple, tasty food.

The intimacy, laughter, candid discussions, and occasional conflicts that are attached to meals with family and friends makes the food the supporting cast, with the stories and connections being the main event.

In these times of caution, I have found outdoor meals with folks a powerful, and necessary, way to stay close to the people I don’t live with. A great cup of coffee and just one more lemon poppy seed muffin are wonderful finishing touches to the blend of a meal, quietly staring at the trees, and great conversation.

Awesome and inspirational too!

Your significant other or child asked you to do something you don’t like to do. Do you (1) grin and bear it OR (2) mumble to yourself while doing the task?

I’ve done both. Plenty of times. And I’ve learned.

I’ve learned that because I am a father and husband, I will gladly, or reluctantly, participate in activities that I would not have experienced unless I loved my children and wife. I would not have cared much about shoes, if not for having multiple fashion conscious females in our home. Now, I possess quite a collection of cool suede shoes. I would not have come to embrace the arduous journey of buying just the right gifts if I did not have the good fortune of finding my life partner, who doesn’t just give gifts, she sends love. I would not have drifted beyond mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, and books directly related to my life’s work, if not for a son who introduced me to the fantasy fiction of Robert Jordan.

It is also true that one way I know that others care about me is that I still get invited to participate in their lives as I mumble and complain. Fun loving curmudgeon is not necessarily an oxymoron. In my life, that is.

No oxymoron for you!

Do you prefer to read (1) an e-book OR (2) a paperback?

Without a doubt, paperback. I value the ways in which e-books have made it easier to reach more readers at a very reasonable cost to authors and readers. I appreciate the portability of e-books. And still, I’m old school. I love the feel of a book in my hands. Much like I still read the liner notes on my vinyl records, I enjoy the book’s cover art, the cover blurb, the author bio, the acknowledgements, all printed on paper. The book becomes solid, tangible, real.

I have had the opportunity to have two non-fiction books published, and self-published two additional self help books, all in paperback, before releasing Overnight Delivery. I can still close my eyes and remember the moment the delivery person (not featured in my novel) arrived at my office with a large envelope…my first publication. After opening the envelope, I stared at it, cradling the book as if it was a very special creation. The sensation of holding that proof copy of Overnight Delivery, years later, was much the same.

For me, another perk of paperbacks is the trip to a bookstore or library. I have spent hour after hour perusing the paperback sections of my favorite independent bookstores and local libraries. As a youth, my family moved around a fair bit and one of my first actions as a new kid in town was to locate the town library and acquire that new library card. My current library card is more worn down than any other card I hold in my wallet.

Paperbacks for you!

What is your favorite (1) song OR (2) book?

This is such a tough question, which is no doubt what makes it so popular.

I’ll go with an answer to both. Song: What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye.

Why? Genius. He captured the times in his lyrics, and they have also become timeless. If you haven’t heard it recently, give it another close listen.

The layers of vocals and instruments were far past the cliche of, ‘ahead of it’s time.’ The complexity, the spacing, the ethereal quality of his voice.. Unique in all the universe.

The book. There are so many, but the first that rose up in my thoughts when I read the question was Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt.

Why? To the best of my knowledge I have no Irish DNA. Yet, when I read this book it seemed as if I could hear Irish folks speaking in my head. The use of language and McCourt’s writing style are beyond vivid. This is a memoir that read like a page turning novel. The pain, the humor, the people, the grace. There is also a graciousness in what is often a tragic story about family, country, and culture. I cannot think of another book that has combined truth, education, dramatic tension, and hope any better than Angela’s Ashes.

Interesting explanation of your favorites!

Thanks for being interviewed, Raymond!