Interview with crime fiction author Michael Tabman

I'm happy to welcome Michael Tabman, to Reviews and Interviews today.

Michael Tabman was born and raised in New York City. He graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, NY. After serving as a police officer, with the Fairfax County, VA Police Department for three years, he joined the FBI.

As an FBI agent for 24 years, Michael investigated crimes ranging from white collar to organized crime, drug trafficking and money laundering. He rose through the ranks reaching the level of Special Agent in Charge. His professional travels took him to Israel, Russia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. After retiring, Michael founded SPIRIT Asset Protection, LLC as a security and risk management consulting firm.

Michael is the author of Walking the Corporate Beat: Police School for Business People, which is based upon Michael’s 27 years of law enforcement experience drawing amusing parallels between the police world, business, and everyday life decisions.

Michael, please tell us about your current release.
Midnight Sin is an inside look at the dark and mysterious world behind the cop’s badge. Rookie cop Gary Hollings quickly learns becoming a cop changes everything you thought you knew about life. Hollings finds that wrestling street thugs and arresting drug dealers while trying to track down a serial rapist is nowhere near as tough as watching his back from his fellow cops. He must also fight his inner demons – ones that he never knew he had until he put on that police uniform.

What inspired you to write this book?
After 27 year career in law enforcement, with a wide expanse of experiences, I had witnessed many interesting people and unusual events. While Midnight Sin is completely fictional, the story is a culmination of those years. I always found that cops had their own culture and way of life that many people could not understand. I wanted to explore the cop psyche in an entertaining way.

What exciting project are you working on next?
I am working on a novel centered on an FBI agent struggling with a complicated investigation only to find his life become even more complicated as the rules of the game change suddenly and without warning.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I am not sure I have gotten there yet. My first book, Walking the Corporate Beat: Police School for Business People, was a “lessons learned” book, not a novel. I will wait to see how Midnight Sin is received before I answer this question.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I do not write full-time. Since retiring from the FBI, I have been running SPIRIT Asset Protection, LLC, a consulting business for corporate security matters as well as giving presentations to CEOs and businesses in various topics such as workplace violence, business risk, fraud, and identity theft.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I think the quirk in my writing is my need to not just tell a story, but to have a message while being entertained.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a child I thought about many careers, though never really a cop. That decision did not come until I was in my teens.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
As the events of the story unfold, I hope the reader focuses on why things happened the way they did.

Michael, thank you for being here today. Best of luck with your writing, you certainly have a lot of experience to draw from for this genre.