You have a visual writing style. Can you explain how you develop a scene?

Every single scene in a book, without exception, must be important and must be interesting. The first thing I do in developing a scene is to sure that it is important (e.g., advances the plot, defines the character, presents or resolves a conflict, discloses backstory, etc.). A good scene will do several of these things at once. Once I know what the goal of the scene is, the next thing I determine is how to make the scene as interesting as possible, in terms of setting, characters, conversation, action, etc. I seem to get the best bang for the word by making the scene visual and lacing it with probative conversation. What the character sees and says, and how he/she reacts to what is happening, tells more about that person than descriptions of their inner thoughts ever could.
 
Given your hard-boiled narrative, who are your influences?

I have a lot of things in my life, but one thing I don't have is time. I wake up every morning needing to squeeze 48 hours of stuff into the next 24. The end result is that I haven't had time to read a book in over 20 years, meaning I have no influences. This has pros and cons, the pros being that I don't get enamored by the writing styles or plots or characters of other writers, the cons being obvious.
 
Your plots are very complex. How do you develop them? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

The ending is the most important part of any thriller. I like to blow the reader away at the end by having three or four major twists explode at the same time, all set to the drumbeat of fast action and with multiple persons at risk. The framework for those twists must be weaved into the book starting with the first chapter, meaning that I need to know what the twists are going to be before I write word-one. Once I figure out what the twists will be, I outline the backstory, meaning the stuff that has happened before the book started. This is not overly detailed, just a couple of pages. Up to this point, what I'm doing is building rather than writing.

Then I start writing by dropping the characters into the book with the backstory already in motion, which allows the action to begin on page one. At that point, I become a "panster," flying by the seat of my pants, without the safety net of a plot or outline. I tend to follow the characters around rather than guide them. They're allowed to go where they will, so long as they stay within the general broad-brush concepts of the book. What usually happens during the writing process is that I think of more and more conflicts, characters, subplots and issues to inject into the story. That's why it ends up seeming so complex.
 
Mackenzie Lee was my favorite character. I think of someone living on a boat as a Florida or Seattle life style (not Chatfield Res). You get major points for creativity. How did you come about with a character like her?

Mackenzie is an attorney who started off her career in a big law firm and then got unjustly fired five years into her tenure because she was a little too honest for the culture. She opened her own solo firm, ran into leaner times and ended up living on a friend's sailboat for the summer. Then she lands a case against the firm and has a chance to take it down. While revenge might be sweet, she always has her client's best interests at heart, even to the point of putting her own life on the line. By combining character traits such as good ethics, hard work, vulnerability and self-sacrifice, she turns out to be a likeable and compelling character.  She's hot, too. Did I mention that?
 
Very interesting that you bridged the story between Denver and New Orleans. Other than the voodoo angel, what is the fascination with New Orleans? Given the voodoo theme, New Orleans was a natural place to set some of the scenes, including the conclusion which takes place in a violent, hurricane-like storm. Plus, you have to love a city that knows how to party.
 
You give us a lot of behind-the-scenes of the Denver legal business (and promotions). How much of this is drawn from real life and how much do you make up (you do write fiction, after all).

Having been an attorney for 25 years, I'm able to portray attorneys, law firms and the legal world in very realistic terms.  While none of the characters, firms or cases that appear in my books are based on real events, the fabric from which those things are created is very real.

You have an active legal practice and a lot of demands on your time. How and when do you write?

Time is indeed the major problem for most writers. What I try to do is block out a two-month period where I have as little lawyer stuff going on as possible, meaning I don't schedule trials, depositions, motions, hearings, client meetings, etc. during that time. I then work on the book every day and complete it, from start to finish, in that two-month period. I write approximately 10 pages a day. The last 50-70 pages of the book are usually written in two or three whirlwind days.

How did you come about with Bryson Coventry? What's next for him?

I wanted Coventry to be very different from the unrealistic and tired mold that detectives have been cast in over the last 20 years (e.g. lone wolf, butting heads with the chief, violent, drunk, misunderstood, etc.). He's a team player, a respectful man and someone who always puts the case ahead of his own well-being. Because of that, people both in the FBI and his own department will do just about anything to help him when he asks. He also has an eye for the ladies, which tends to get him into trouble.

While Night Laws, Shadow Laws, Fatal Laws, Deadly Laws, Bangkok Laws, Immortal Laws and Voodoo Laws are all set in Denver, Coventry will start traveling the world to experience foreign lands and cultures starting in the next book, Ancient Laws (Fall 2009), which is set in Paris, Cairo and the Valley of the Kinds. That book also introduces Fallon La Rue, who will branch out into her own series.  Hong Kong Laws (Spring 2010), takes Coventry to Hong Kong and Relic Laws (Fall 2010), takes him to Tokyo. Setting the Laws books in foreign countries is one way to ensure that the books are dramatically different from the prior ones.

I'm currently working on Laws 11, Untitled Laws (Spring 2011), which is an edgy thriller set in Bangkok, where Coventry will be forced to confront his own dark side.

For more info on Hansen's work, visit http://JimHansenBooks.com

Mario Acevedo is a member of ITW and the author of the Felix Gomez vampire detective series from Eos HarperCollins.  His most recent book is Jailbait Zombie.  Mario lives and writes in Denver, Colorado.
http://www.marioacevedo.com