How does your sequel, Buried Strangers, differ from your acclaimed debut, Blood of the Wicked?

In Blood of the Wicked, the crimes occur in a small town. Buried Strangers brings Silva and his mates to São Paulo, the largest city in the Southern hemisphere. The location is fundamental to the story. The evil being done in the book is a big city evil. And it's an evil unique to the developing world. Blood deals with the rich taking livelihood from the poor. Buried deals with the taking of their very lives. I can't tell you more than that. It would be a spoiler.

Publisher's Weekly called your writing "suspenseful and sophisticated," how important is voice in hitting that combination?

After four books (one still in revision), I now know Mario Silva better than my wife of thirty years, and I know her better than anyone else on this earth.  I don't ask myself, anymore, "what is Silva going to do next?" I don't have to. I always know. When he speaks, his voice resonates in my head. There are certain words that he uses, others that he doesn't, and I never get them mixed up. I hope that, in the course of time, he'll become as real to my readers as he has become to me.

How does your sense of the world contribute to your sense of fiction?

I couldn't write Silva without an in-depth knowledge of Brazil, the Brazilian people and the language they speak. My personal experiences are fundamental to my storytelling. I try, as Hemingway put it, "to write it true."

You've drawn attention to social problems such as Brazil's land wars and how the country's elite control most of the nation's wealth. When you are in Brazil, do you feel any guilt being a 'have' surrounded by 'have-nots'?

No, I don't feel any guilt. Not any more. These days, I'm not into guilt. I'm into compassion.  Guilt isn't productive. Compassion is.

Brazil was my first experience of the third world. On the trip from the airport to the heart of the city I passed a number of favelas, shacks standing wall-on-wall, without plumbing, without electricity.  The people living in those shacks were, as I soon discovered, the fortunate poor. Poorer still were kids living on the streets, sleeping rough, going through garbage cans in search of food.  Now, more than thirty years on, it's still much the same. These days, though, I see it differently. I see it with other eyes, because I've seen worse.

I've seen Africa. When you're confronted with misery, or even with poverty, you can do one of two things: turn your back on it, or try to help. I try to help.  But I don't feel guilty for the things I have. For those things, I feel only gratitude.

You launched your own coast to coast book tour for your debut thriller, what did you learn?

I've been traveling and giving presentations of one sort or another for almost forty years, so I didn't expect many surprises when I set out to tour.  But I was surprised all the same, surprised about how nice people were. I'm not just referring to readers and booksellers. I include the other writers I met along the way. This vocation (Yeah, I know it's a business, but I don't like calling it that.) somehow manages to concentrate folks who are wonderful to know. Meeting them is one of the perks of being an author.

You paint Brazil as a dangerous place, would it be best if Thrillerfest is never held there?

Brazil's major cities are dangerous places. Holding Thrillerfest in a place like Rio or São Paulo would, most definitely, not be a good idea. But there are other options. The FLIP, the literary festival held yearly in the little colonial town of Parati, is safe to visit and one hell of a lot of fun. Readers who might be interested in visiting Brazil should check out their web site. There's an English language version at: http://www.flip.org.br/sobre_flip.php3

For more information on Leighton Gage's books, visit his website at www.leightongage.com

Contributing editor Julie Kramer's debut thriller  STALKING SUSAN was selected as one of People Magazine's Sizzling Summer Reads and one of Parade Magazine's Picks for Summer Suspense. Her sequel, MISSING MARK, will be released by Doubleday July, 2009.