Interview With Best-Selling Author Jeffrey Stephens

1. What inspired you to write this book? I had written six espionage thrillers, a murder mystery and a father-son treasure hunt that was dear to my heart. I decided to call upon my decades of experience as an attorney to create a new set of characters.  I moved from New York City to Connecticut long ago, and it was interesting to recall my early days in Manhattan as I recreated some of those adventures in a modern story.  In my view, there is simply no other city that provides the diverse settings and characters we find in New York. 

2. What exactly is it about — and who is it written for? ILLUSIONS OF TRUST is the story of young Manhattan attorney Russell Palmer, who agrees to handle the divorce of a beautiful and wealthy socialite—by the way, over the advice of his mentor, a retired NYPD detective by the name of Robbie Whyte.  Before long, they are in the center of a tangled web of deceit, corruption, peril—and murder—as they struggle to protect their client and themselves.  Anyone who enjoys a good mystery or thriller is my target audience.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? A mystery or thriller is intended first as entertainment, something to grab a reader’s interest, and then keep her moving ahead.  ILLUSIONS OF TRUST also raises real-life issues intended to engage the reader, while introducing fun characters that will be back in the next novels in this series.  I hope everyone who reads it finds both the enjoyment and human elements I have attempted to provide.  

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? That’s a great question.  I had a very corny working title for a long time—Murder, Money & Marriage—which everyone from my wife to my publisher gave the thumbs down. Since the story deals with betrayal and deceit, I ultimately felt that ILLUSIONS OF TRUST conveyed a sense of what the novel is all about.  As to the cover, I am grateful to the crew at Post Hill Press that provided a number of options.  I think the image of a mysterious woman in front of the New York City skyline is pitch perfect.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? Running away is not bad advice for a tough business LOL.  I always lean on the advice of the late novelist George V. Higgins author of, among other things, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which was also a great motion picture.  If your readers are interested, he wrote an excellent book on the tradecraft of writing, and his final admonition is right on the money.  At the end he said, “Writers write!”  I know a lot of people who claim to have great story ideas, but unless you sit down regularly and get those words on paper or the computer screen, it will never happen.  If you have a bad day, you can throw that junk away tomorrow.  But if you keep writing and you will get better, which I think is true of anything in life.  I should add, writing a novel is all about rewriting.  

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?  In the 20 years I have been involved with publishers, editors and marketers, the industry has really changed.  Amazon is the key seller of books, not local bookstores or even Barnes & Noble. Ebooks have changed the financial dynamics of the business.  And self-publishing has crowded the marketplace in every genre. I think the future will be more of the same, making it difficult to get your work noticed if you are not already a celebrity publicizing a book or someone with a great track record.  If you do not love writing, my advice is to stay away or, as you mentioned earlier, RUN!  

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  Absolutely.  Many of the characters are based on people I’ve known, the New York settings are authentic, and parts of the twisty tale come from real life.  

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I would be embarrassed to compare my writing to those I admire, but there are a couple of things I work hard to achieve.  I want my style to be clean, by which I mean easy to read.  The English language is beautiful, and I engage in endless rewrites so that the scenes and dialogue flow.  I lean more to Hemingway than Dostoevsky, more Vince Flynn than Melville, if you know what I mean.  I don’t spend time on wordy descriptions.  I want readers to remain engaged in the story and connected to the characters, while I try to stay out of the way.  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Of the various novels I have written, this was a bit easier than some. I outline my novels, and the plot came to me with a lot less difficulty than some other stories.  I have a collaborator on plot creation, Larry Garinger, and we had fun with this one.  It obviously helped that I have a background practicing law and, as I have said, I knew people from whom many of the characters are drawn.   

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? Because my books are so terrific!  Seriously, I think readers will come away having enjoyed the story, being surprised by some of the twists, and really liking certain characters—hopefully wanting to come back for the next one in the series.  At least check it out on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Illusions of Trust.  Or have a look at my website www.jeffreystephens.com.  Thanks! 

About The Author: Jeffrey Stephens is the Amazon best-selling and PenCraft award-winning author of the Jordan Sandor thrillers, TARGETS OF DECEPTION, TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY, TARGETS OF REVENGE and ROGUE MISSION; the Anthony Walker murder mystery CRIMES AND PASSION; the Pencraft First Place Award winning novel, FOOL’S ERRAND; and the Nicholas Reagan thrillers, THE HANDLER and its sequel, ENEMIES AMONG US. A native of New York City, the author is a successful attorney in private practice, admitted in both in New York and Connecticut, who has lived for more than forty years in Greenwich, which is where he and his wife Nancy raised their two sons, Graham and Trevor.  His website is www.jeffreystephens.com and the Amazon link is https://www.amazon.com/Illusions of Trust.

 

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About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 5,000,000 page views. With 5,400+ posts over the past 14 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs  by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum