David Bell is the New York Times bestselling author of a number of suspense novels. His latest, Storm Warning, is released on June 25, 2024. Bell is a professor of English at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. His other novels include Try Not to Breathe, She’s Gone, The Finalists, Kill All Your Darlings, The Request, Layover, Somebody’s Daughter, Bring Her Home, Since She Went Away, Somebody I Used to Know, The Forgotten Girl, Never Come Back, The Hiding Place, and Cemetery Girl.
Storm Warning, is one of those edge-of-the-seat novels where a group of folks are semi-stranded and bodies start dropping. Someone among the group is obsviously a stone killer, and who is going to be the next victim? This one is set on a Florida barrier island with a hurricane approaching and a rising body count. The novel has deservedly earned some great reviews. The bestselling author Lisa Ungar called it a “compulsive, twisty, race-against-the-clock thriller…[a] smart and unrelenting page-turner!”
David, it is a real pleasure to have you on Scene of the Crime. Got to admit, Storm Warning kept me up late a few nights, turning the pages. Great book. So, let’s start things off, if we could, with a description of your connection to the Florida barrier islands and your interest in hurricanes or other extreme weather events.
Storm Warning is set on a barrier island during a hurricane. There are a couple of reasons why and how I chose this setting and these events. For one, my in-laws live on a similar—but nicer—barrier island in Florida, and they have been forced to evacuate—and suffered damage—as a result of hurricanes. Most relevant, my street in Kentucky was hit by a tornado in late 2021, so I used my experiences living through a storm and its aftermath to write the book.
What things about this time/place make it unique and a good physical setting in your book?
The book deals with our changing climate, something we’re all having to reckon with.
Did you consciously set out to use your time or location as a “character” in your books, or did this grow naturally out of the initial story or stories?
I’ve always wanted to set a book in Florida because I’ve spent so much time there visiting my family. For a long time, Florida felt like a second home to us. It’s a unique place and a rich locale for an interesting story.
How does your protagonist interact with his surroundings? Is he a native, a blow-in, a reluctant or enthusiastic inhabitant, cynical about it, a booster? And conversely, how does the setting affect your protagonist?
My protagonist, Jake Powell, is a temporary resident of Florida when the story unfolds. He plans to be there for a short time but ends up forming ties to the people and the places there. He risks his life for the new friends he’s made.
Can you let us into the writing process for this novel?
I hesitate to say I enjoyed writing about the destruction of the storm, but it was a unique challenge, unlike anything else I’ve ever written. From a writer’s point of view, it was the kind of challenge I relished. But I drew on a lot of unpleasant memories to make it happen.
Who are your favorite writers, and do you feel that other writers influenced you in your use of the spirit of place in your novels?
I just read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. She brings the past to life with the sparest of details. It’s an impressive feat of concision and character development.
If you could live anywhere or anytime, where would it be and why?
I’m a creature of habit so I’d struggle to learn a new time and place. I do feel compelled to live in a world without cell phones, computers, and social media. I would, however, like to stream movies and television.
What’s next for your protagonist, or if this is the swan song—why end it?
I think this is it for Jake. But I enjoyed getting to know him.
David, thanks again for joining us on Scene of the Crime, and good luck with Storm Warning.
Scene of the Crime