Bidinotto is a Maryland resident and an award-winning investigative journalist and magazine editor whose debut novel, “Hunter,” set in D.C., recently became a best-seller.
Did you ever think you’d be writing fiction one day?
To be honest with you, I have always wanted to write a novel, but life circumstances and a lack of self-confidence got in the way. And when the new options came forward with Kindle and the e-book revolution, I suddenly saw an opportunity. The other thing was at age 60, I saw “write a novel” at the top of my bucket list. I made up my mind with these new opportunities that I would finish the novel before my 62nd birthday. And I did … with one hour to spare.
You say you were inspired to write “Hunter” from real-life experience as an investigative journalist. Was there any one experience in particular?
I met, during my investigative writing, numerous crime victims, many of whom had been victimized by people who should have been behind bars but who had been released prematurely or never convicted because of leniency or corruption in the legal system. So as a result I think it was all of those experiences together with crime victims that made me very angry at the criminal justice system.
You were ranked No. 4 on the Kindle Bestseller List — above James Patterson, John Grisham and Stephen King. How did that feel?
I gotta tell you, I went to bed on Nov. 26 ranked No. 2,988. I woke up ranked No. 24 on the 27th. … And during the subsequent several days afterward, the book just kept climbing past all of these exalted names of major authors. I can’t tell you how stunned I was. …
Tell us more about Dylan. What inspired the character?
Dylan Hunter is the man I would be if I could get away with it.
– Courtney Zott
