“I used to tell myself stories all the time”

Interview session with author Gregory A. Sallee.

Gregory A. Sallee served in the Army for seven years. The author was confronted with death on both his professional and personal path. In his book ‘Murder at the House in the Middle’, Sallee deals with a moral question that hasn’t left him since his days in the Army: “Why would someone kill someone for seemingly no reason?”

Tell us a little about yourself!

When I was in school, I loved to write but hated to read. My mom told me that when I was young, I would scribble on a piece of paper and say, “Look, Mommy, I wrote a book.” Then I wrote a children’s book in high school, but it was never published. After school I learned to drive a truck and did that until I went into the Army. I spent seven years there and I did two tours of duty in Iraq. Then I drove trucks again until my time in the military caught up to me and messed up my lungs. After a while I started to write.

What made you chose this genre?

I chose this genre because I’m curious about why people do the things that they do to each other. After being in Iraq, learning and seeing some of the things that terrorist cells did to allied forces made me want to know why they would do that. What drove someone to that point of thinking that it’s okay to do that to someone?

What was the motivation behind writing a book?

I used to tell myself stories all the time. Sometimes they would be about me and my future. Sometimes they would be about my friends and family. Other times they would just be fictional stories. I figured that since I was telling myself stories anyway, I might as well write them down. Then suddenly while I was writing I thought, I’m going to turn this into a book. That is how my first book was written.

What was the motivation behind this particular story?

The motivation behind this story is just that I thought that it would be a good outlet to answer some of my own questions about why someone would kill someone for seemingly no reason. I don’t want to give away the book, so I won’t go into the book’s murder any further. I don’t really understand why people hurt each other when there is another way around it.

Where did you come up with the title?

I wrote about the house that the murder took place in as a house that was between two others. I thought that this title made sense and that it would stand out. I researched it to make sure that there wasn’t another book out there with the same name. I didn’t find one, so I had my title.

How did you research the subject?

I took a sheriff reserve class just out of high school and I hung out with several cops, went on a ride-along and asked a lot of questions. I also had a friend accused of something that he didn’t do when I was in school and that taught me a lot as well about what can and can’t be done.

Was there any inspiration behind the characters?

There was some inspiration. I drew some characters’ names from people that I know. I thought about personalities, but I didn’t put them into characters that are exactly them. There were some made-up characters too.

How did you complete your research?

I am disabled, so I used the phone and the internet a lot. When you tell someone that you’re writing a book they tend to become extremely helpful. I even have the coroner’s office number listed in my phone after this book. I never thought that I would ever have a reason to have the coroner’s number, but I do.

Is there anything in particular that made you choose the title ‘Murder at the House in the Middle’?

Simply put, the title fit the book. It described the book completely.

Is there more that we can look forward to from you?

Yes, I have completed another book and it is part of a three-book series that I am working on. I have already started the second book in the series.

Is there any advice that you can give future authors?

I would just say, don’t give up. If you get a rejection letter, don’t give up. Get your work out there even if you have to self-publish. Just get your work out there and keep writing. As you write you will get better. If you self-publish the first book maybe you won’t have to for the second book. Just keep going and don’t give up.

Thank you for the interview.

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About the book

Title: ‘Murder at the House in the Middle’
Author: Gregory A. Sallee
Plot: A college coed is dead, brutally murdered in her own home with a butcher knife. Detective Tom James and his partner Mike Turner begin unravelling the clues and interviewing witnesses while still going about their own day-to-day lives.

Order your book here!

About the author

Gregory A. Sallee was born in San Bernardino, California. After high school he became a truck driver before joining the army. He met and married his wife toward the end of his military career and they had a son together. After attaining the rank of sergeant, he left the army. He went back to truck driving. He stopped driving when an illness caught up to him from his time in Iraq causing problems with his lungs. He lost his wife at the age of 40 and, wanting to do something meaningful, he began writing. His favorite activities are being in nature, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends. He loves coming up with stories and sharing them with anyone who wants to read them.

Find out more about the author here!