More Top Picks Wearable Breast Pumps
player ready...Terry John Malik earlier this month spoke to students at Guerin College Prep about his recently released novel, “The Bricklayer of Albany Park.”
Q: Where did you grow up and go to school?
A: I grew up in Elmwood Park. I went to Holy Cross High School, and I went to University of Notre Dame.
Q: Tell me about your career before you became a writer.
A: After I graduated from Notre Dame, I taught junior high for three years. [After a few other jobs,] I decided I wanted to go to law school at night. I was a corporate bankruptcy lawyer. After that, I was the president at Guerin College Prep. After I retired from Guerin, I moved to Sanibel Island in Florida in 2012.
Q: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
A: I knew in November 2014. Sanibel Island has a cultural center called Big Arts. There is an annual writing conference at the cultural center that I thought I would attend to meet new people and be intellectually stimulated. I read what I wrote out loud for the conference, and people started applauding afterwards.
Q: Where did the inspiration come from for “The Bricklayer of Albany Park?”
A: I know where I wanted it to end and I knew the premise, but honestly, I don’t know!
Q: What’s the premise of the book?
A: It’s about a serial killer in Chicago and the book is written in first person. It’s about a detective chasing the killer. The chapters alternate between the killer and the detective.
Q: What did you do at Guerin on Nov. 17?
A: I spoke to some of their English classes.
Q: Have you done a book tour?
A: I’ve doing a lot of book signings. I did a signing on Nov. 18 at the Naperville Barnes and Noble. I’ve done some signings in Florida, and I did one in Albany Park, which was cool. I have one scheduled on Black Friday. I had a launch party in Chicago in September.
Q: Who is your publisher?
A: My publisher is Blank Slate Press.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: The sequel is done. My publisher wants me to perform some major surgery on it, so that’s what I’m doing. I’ve already written the prequel, which goes back to 1997.
More Top Picks Best Eye Masks For Dry Eyes
Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.