Petrucci, Paul 1954–

PERSONAL: Born March 13, 1954, in Montclair, NJ; married; children: Sophia. Education: Attended University of Maryland and University of Washington, Seattle. Hobbies and other interests: Chess, sports, travel, architecture, history.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Booklocker.com, Inc., P.O. Box 2399, Bangor, ME 04402-2399. E-mail—paul@paulpetrucci.com.

CAREER: Business process analyst in the information technology field.

WRITINGS:

Prodigal Logic: A Ray Gabriel Floating Home Mystery (novel), Booklocker (Bangor, ME), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Floating Homely, the second mystery novel in the "Ray Gabriel Floating Home Mystery" series.

SIDELIGHTS: Paul Petrucci told CA: "I work in information technology as a business process analyst. I've spent some time in the field of artificial intelligence, which actually gave me the original idea for the Prodigal Logic: A Ray Gabriel Floating Home Mystery plot. I was working with expert systems which are programs that attempt to imitate the decision-making rules and heuristics of an expert. I was reading Sherlock Holmes and wondered if I could put his expertise into a computer. Then the thought came: what if a person tried using Sherlock's knowledge in a real investigation; then what if he had to grow it quickly and it kept making mistakes; then what if it started giving the right answer but the protagonist didn't want to hear the right answer. So the idea for the book actually grew out of my day job.

"Living in the Northwest, there is beauty everywhere. For fun I love to ski and bike. I live on a floating home, so we have access to water sports, especially kayaking. I love to read, I love raising my daughter. My wife and I both love to watch movies and to give breakfast parties—before parenthood it used to be dinner parties.

"Umberto Eco gave me something to aspire to: a literary mystery novel that had both Gothic overtones and psychological suspense. Arturo Perez-Reverte is of the same mold, if more accessible; his books have wonderful characters and intricate plots. Stephen Greenleaf was one of my instructors at the University of Washington program. His books, along with those of the other two authors, offered the message that it's okay not to dummy down your plot, to trust your readers and not insult their intelligence.

"There is a difference in feeling between a first draft and subsequent drafts. When writing a first draft, I let everything go and try to have my fingers keep pace with my thoughts. I have found that I listen to words as I write them—I am more auditory than visual—and when the words sound right, I feel like laughing, even if the material isn't necessarily funny. Even if my first draft strays from its intended path, it's usually not frustrating. The frustration comes in subsequent drafts, when the words-per-minute radio slows to a snail's pace. Editing takes a clear head and patience, so frustration is a natural result if it's not working.

"I love the process of creating names, for both characters and book titles. For characters who are known primarily by their first names, the names have to stand alone while subtly saying something about them. My two female leads are Zelda and Miriam, and from the names I think you can determine which is the good girl and which is the naughty one. The two priests are Zebediah and Aquilinio; again, they are very different. One's name is meant to denote someone with a fire-and-brimstone view of religion; the other has very defined physical features that are reflected in the name. For characters who are known by both first and last names, it's also necessary that the sounds flow trippingly off the tongue. My antagonist Julius Dexter's name is meant to connote imperiousness and sinister left-handedness. I like the name Ray Gabriel for my protagonist because it flows and because it's composed of two angels.

"I've been told by more than one person that Prodigal Logic doesn't have a 'mystery novel' feel to it. There's no death in the title, or any other sinister word. The reason that I stayed with it is because I like the sound of the two words together, and because I think the phrase very subtly spells out the two competing subjects: religion/philosophy versus computers, or feeling/ethics versus logic. I connect the word 'prodigal' with religion because of the parable of the prodigal son. But even using its formal meaning of 'squandered,' the title works for the book.

"Because I tend to hear the characters speak instead of visualizing scenes, I hear the sound of the words more clearly than I picture the setting. I do that even when describing scenery, which makes that part of writing very difficult to me. Maybe I should have been a poet. When it works for me, it is like hearing good music—so one important goal is self-serving: to hear that music play in my head. It's also important to me to entertain while giving information. I want my books to be thought-provoking and touch on important ideas, but they must be wrapped in a pleasing package so that they'll be read. If they're not read, the messages don't get delivered. I don't want to end up talking to myself."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, August, 2002, Rex Klett, review of Prodigal Logic: A Ray Gabriel Floating Home Mystery, p. 150.

ONLINE

BookBrowser.com, http://www.bookbrowser.com/ (August 7, 2002), Phillip Tomasso, III, review of Prodigal Logic: A Ray Gabriel Floating Home Mystery.

Electronic Book Reviews, http://www.electronicbookreviews.com/ (July 18, 2002), Cheryl McCann, review of Prodigal Logic.

Over My Dead Body! Online, http://overmydeadbody.com/ (December 10, 2002), Karen Meek, review of Prodigal Logic.

Paul Petrucci Home Page, http://www.paulpetrucci.com (March 19, 2003).

Spiral Nature Web site, http://www.spiralnature.com/ (August 28, 2002), George Dobbs, review of Prodigal Logic.

Suite 101.com, http://www.suite101.com/ (July 18, 2002), Lorie Ham, "Interview with New Mystery Author Paul Petrucci."