Press Kit

Short Bio:

B.D. Lawrence has always loved reading fiction. Ironically, though, his worst subject in high school was English. One night, sitting in a master’s level computer programming class, daydreaming about vigilantes, he decided to give writing a try. Out of that came his first novel, which went nowhere. That was many years ago. During his writing journey he’s dabbled in several genres, including mystery, suspense, science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. He currently is focusing on crime stories of justice, vengeance, and redemption. He hopes his Lefty Bruder private detective series will not only entertain lovers of P.I. fiction but will also help fight the scourge of human trafficking, as B.D. Lawrence is going to donate half of all his profits from that series to organizations helping to fight human trafficking.

Long Bio:

Through high school and college, B.D. Lawrence viewed writing as a chore, as something he had to do to get through his English classes. But he always loved reading fiction. Early on he read mostly science fiction and fantasy. As an adult he read mysteries, police procedurals, and suspense novels. The stories that stuck with him were the ones with a sense of justice, where good prevailed over evil, where sketchy characters found redemption in heroic acts. Never did he think he’d write stories like that.

B.D. Lawrence graduated college with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and a double-major in psychology. For several years, he worked in hospital mental health units. It didn’t take long to determine that was not where he wanted to spend his career, so he took a job as a claims analyst at a major health insurance company. While there he was given the opportunity to pursue computer programming. This was the career he decided he wanted, so he enrolled in a master’s degree program in computer science at the University of Minnesota.

It was there, while sitting in a computer programming class on a now dead computer language, that he started dreaming of the possibility of writing. He’d always been fascinated with vigilantes, superheroes, and ordinary people getting caught up in situations where they had to do extraordinary things. He decided to try writing his own stories.

B.D. Lawrence joined online writing groups and soaked in the craft of writing. He worked on and received a master’s degree in English from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Over the next ten or so years he finished four novels and over thirty-five short stories. The novels were all suspense novels but remained unpublished. The short stories spanned many genres, including mystery, suspense, science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. He had a modicum of success, publishing twenty-five of the short stories in various magazines and two in anthologies put together by Ed Gorman.

About seven years ago, he started working on his first Lefty Bruder novel. He’d written a short story about Lefty and liked the one-armed character. But his day job intervened, and he shelved his writing altogether for five years. After a job change, he had more time to focus on writing and that allowed him to finish An Angel and a One-Armed Man.

B.D. Lawrence finished an online book launch course and then plunged into indie publishing. An Angel and a One-Armed Man will be the first in a series of books featuring Lefty Bruder, all focused on human trafficking. Interspersed with the series B.D. Lawrence plans to rewrite his previously unpublished novels and publish those. He hopes through the Lefty Bruder series, he can help fight the scourge of human trafficking working alongside organizations that fight this epidemic by donating half of his profits from those books to those organizations.

B.D. Lawrence is happy to answer any additional questions about his writing and his life and would love to appear on podcasts, radio shows, television or in articles so that he can push the Lefty Bruder series to raise funds to help fight against human trafficking.

Potential Interview Questions

Why a one-armed detective?

I wanted someone who appears to have a handicap, but to show that he can do just about everything anyone else can do.

Where did the idea / inspiration come from for a one-armed detective?

Had a friend with a prosthetic leg and it didn’t hold him back from much. He even plays sled-hockey to an para-olympic level.
Also, as will be explained in book two – it gives the detective an edge – an element of surprise. People underestimate him. He’s a symbol for all who get underestimated on what they can achieve.

Story doesn’t go into too much detail on dealing with one arm. Why?

I don’t want people to have sympathy. I don’t want him to appear “handicapped”. There will be some things thrown in, probably most for comedic element than anything else. However, in Coyote, I go into some more detail and show some of the struggles Lefty has.

What is different about the way you’re marketing / selling your book.

I am giving ½ of my profits to an organization that helps victims of human trafficking.

Why do you have a passion for helping victims of human trafficking?

Working 11 years in a youth group. Can’t imagine seeing those girls I worked with going through something like being trafficked.
Have some friends whose daughter went through this. Have seen how hard it was on them and how long it’s taking her to recover.

What is the inspiration behind An Angel and a One-Armed Man?

Needed something for Lefty Bruder.
Also, I began thinking about how someone with a lot of money could help trafficking victims, thus came up with Calvin Rockport.
Finally, the house I describe is real – used to be the owner of the company I used to work for. Thought it would be a great house for this type of thing. Have since found a new structure even better. Will use that in book 2.

How can readers help with human trafficking?

Buy my book! 😊
Also, there are many organizations helping these victims. I can supply a list of some of them.