A crime thriller with a twister
Author James Arlen Anderson discusses novel ‘The Storm Next Door,’
Writer James Arlen Anderson holds a copy of his debut novel, “The Storm Next Door.” The novel is a crime thriller set in the aftermath of tornado hitting a small Minnesota town. Submitted photo
The cover of James Arlen Anderson’s debut novel “The Storm Next Door.” Submitted photo
Writer James Arlen Anderson holds a copy of his debut novel, “The Storm Next Door.” The novel is a crime thriller set in the aftermath of tornado hitting a small Minnesota town. Submitted photo
The cover of James Arlen Anderson’s debut novel “The Storm Next Door.” Submitted photo
Trending
What could be worse than a tornado devastating a community? That is the question writer James Arlen Anderson poses in his debut novel, "The Storm Next Door."
Anderson is a career journalist, living in Burnsville. He is the author of over 20 nonfiction books for early readers, but recently he made the jump to fiction with his debut novel, "The Storm Next Door."
Anderson has worked for serval Minnesota newspaper in his career, including a brief time as a New Ulm Journal sports reporter in 2000.
Anderson grew up in Gaylord, Minnesota, and would graduate from Sibley East in 1992. He later attended college at Minnesota Statue University (MSU) Mankato, majoring in English with a focus on creative writing.
After college he moved to New Ulm with his wife, who taught Cello at the Suzuki School. They were living in a small house on 4th North Street. Anderson was working for a call center and decided he needed to use his writing skills. That is how he came to write for The Journal.
"I would spend my nights waiting for coaches to submit scores and writing up a bowling results," he said.
Anderson would go on to write for several other papers, including the Waseca County News, but eventually moved to online publishing. He is currently the Editor and Chief of Graphics Pro Magazine.
Anderson said he always had a talent for writing and especially enjoyed creative writing, but acknowledged he never thought he could make a living out of it.
How did he find the time to finally write a novel?
"It was always something happening in the back of my mind," Anderson said. "Once my kids were old enough that I did not need to drive them anywhere, I could focus on my writing, get a little bit more serious about creative writing while I am still an editor."
Anderson admitted it was not a straight line to writing his first novel. There was a lot of stop and go. Some weeks he was limited to writing a few hours every week.
"It was definitely stop and go over the course of seven years," he said. "I had a group of buddies from college to share creative writing projects we were working on. That kept me motivated."
Eventually, Anderson saw that he was in sight of completing his book. He got on a scheduled and completed his debut novel, "The Storm Next Door."
Anderson describes "The Storm Next Door" as a slow burn rural crime thriller. The book is set in the fictional town of Hayford, Minnesota, located in south central Minnesota. Anderson said the town is a lot like his hometown of Gaylord.
The main characters is the town Sheriff, Darrell Halvorson, who is bracing for trouble when a convicted sex offender moves into town. Halvorson wants to protect his community from a possible threat, but everything becomes more complicated after a tornado rips through the community, damaging a trailer park. In the aftermath of the storm, Halvorson finds two people missing, the ex-con and a 14-year-old girl who lives next door. Halvorson must find the missing people before the anger of the community citizens takes over. As the search goes on Halvorson begins to uncover secrets that force him to question his own ideas of justice.
Anderson said the idea for the novel came after reading about a tornado destroying a trailer park in Wisconsin. The article featured photos of the survivors in the middle of the rubble.
"I asked, 'What is next for them?'" Anderson said. "That led me to think about what could happen that is worse than a tornado?"
Anderson said he is excited to hear back from fans of the book. Anderson said he is hoping to turn his book into a series. He has another book featuring Sheriff Halvorson in the works.
"It is great seeing people get excited about what I created," he said. "I like what I've created, but to hear that from outside voices is wonderful."
"The Storm Next Door," is available in books stores, online and at local libraries, but Anderson said library patron may need to request the book.