Rick Riordan has written several novels about San Antonio-based PI Tres Navarre, including Big Red Tequila, The Widower's Two Step, and The Last King of Texas. These books have won several mystery awards, including the Anthony, Edgar, and Shamus. He will sign his new Tres Navarre novel The Devil Went Down to Austin at Adventures in Crime & Space Saturday, July 23, 4:00-6:00 PM. Order a copy of his book for the signing.

ACS: Could you give us a brief description of your new book, The Devil Went Down to Austin?

RR: The Devil Went Down to Austin is about a high tech start-up gone terribly wrong - something Austinites may be able to relate to these days. My P.I./English professor, Tres Navarre, comes up to Austin for the summer, thinking he'll have a laid back time teaching an extension course at UT, and soon finds himself trying to clear his brother Garrett of murder charges.

The novel is definitely my personal favorite to date, but writing it presented a lot of challenges. I had to relocate Tres to Austin, and reeducate myself about the Austin landscape, which has changed considerably since my college days. I had to learn about the high tech industry, which is so much a part of Garrett Navarre's life. A lot of the book happens underwater, in Lake Travis, so I also had to get certified for open water diving.

The creepiest thing was getting into the mind of the killer, which really sets the book apart from my previous novels. The book alternates between Tres' first person narrative and emails from the killer, explaining his past crimes. I found that the interplay between the two voices added a whole new level of tension to the story. I hope readers agree.

ACS: You and Tres Navarre have a lot in common: native of San Antonio, English teacher, similar age. How much is he based on you? Are you also a master of martial arts and irresistible to women?

RR: Tres isn't me. He's a "what-if" version of me -- a collection of paths I never took, or only partially followed. Tres got the Ph.D. in English literature that I only thought about. He's bilingual, which I'm not. He's a whole lot better at tai chi than I am. He came close to settling down with his high school sweetheart, but he didn't. I did. Tres is a talented guy. He's got the kind of life that's fun to read and write about, but I wouldn't want to be him. At the end of the day, I go home a lot happier than he does. As for being irresistible to women, if Tres had any illusions about that, they were pretty well shattered in Last King of Texas. In Devil, he's doing some very serious rethinking about his love life.

ACS: The name "Navarre" is unusual. Where did you find it, and what is its ethnicity?

RR: I was doing some medieval reading when I came across the name Navarre - as in the kingdom of Navarre, the region between France and Spain. I just liked the sound of it, and I liked the historical connection. So Tres' ancestry is French Catholic, although a lot of people assume he is Latino.

ACS: Unlike most loner PIs, Tres has regular contact with his mother and brother. Why did you create a PI with family values?

RR: Hey, when you've got a colorful family like mine, they sort of beg to be written into the books. Tres' mom is very much like my own mother. Tres' brother is loosely based on my hippie uncles.

Aside from that, I think there's a trend in mystery fiction, has been for quite a few years, to offer protagonists who have real lives and family connections. Readers aren't as willing to accept characters who have no past and no roots. I don't think Tres would be nearly as interesting if he didn't have his family.

ACS: Tres's brother, Garrett, is a computer whiz who often helps with cases. Where do you get the technical information to describe his extreme hacking?

RR: That was especially important for Devil. I started by talking to my uncle, who's been a programmer in Austin since the 1970s. He put me in touch with some other guys who'd been involved in start-ups and specialized in encryption software like the kind Garrett develops in Devil. I also spent some time on the internet, checking out the hacker and phreak web sites. I'm happy to report the high tech crime scenario put forward in Devil has the stamp of approval of some of the most devious minds in Austin.

ACS: Your books always have scenes where people dine out at actual restaurants. Tell us about your grueling research trips to San Antonio's finest eating spots.

RR: Yeah, man. That is rough. For Devil I had to go to Scholz Garten. I had to check out a bunch of BBQ places around Lake Travis with the county deputies (who know all the best spots). I had to spend a lot of time at Chuy's, just to make sure I was getting my facts straight. Including the eateries is sort of like including Tres' family. I suppose you could write a book without that, but why?

ACS: In keeping with the demographics of San Antonio's population, your books feature a large number of Latino characters. Have you gotten much attention from the Hispanic community?

RR: Interesting question. I don't think you could write about San Antonio without trying to fairly represent the Latino community. San Antonio is Latino - that's the city's past, present, and future. At the same time, San Antonio is fairly schizophrenic. It's like two cities wedged together. Latinos live in both cultures - they have to -- but if you're Anglo, you can go your whole life without visiting a Latino neighborhood or speaking a word of Spanish. I think that's sad. Most of my adult life has been an attempt to appreciate the city as a whole. I've gotten a fair number of fan letters and emails from Latino readers, so I hope I'm doing a decent job representing the city as they see it. I will say that San Antonio doesn't give equal billing to the Latino community when it comes to books and literary events, though. Just look at where all the bookstores are in town. The map pretty much speaks for itself.

ACS: While your books can be read independently, you have several ongoing story arcs for your characters' careers and personal lives. Do you have a master plan for when major events will happen in the lives of Tres and Garrett? If so, would you give us a hint?

RR: I haven't actually developed any sort of master plan for the characters. Garrett, I think, would rebel if I tried to plot his life - he's too busy partying and going to concerts. As for Tres, he keeps surprising me. That's what makes him interesting to write about.

ACS: Your books frequently refer to Tres's early days as an investigator in the Bay Area. Do you have any plans for a prequel set during those times, or for Tres to travel back to California to visit his old stomping grounds?

RR: Devil does some of that, actually. Tres's old girlfriend and mentor, Maia Lee, is a big part of the book, and Tres has to come to terms with what happened between them back in San Francisco.

Also, the book I'm working on now - a stand-alone, not a Tres Navarre book - takes place half in the Hill Country, half in the Bay Area. I don't want to give away too much else about the standalone yet, but I'm very excited about it. Don't worry. I have no plans to give up Tres Navarre. He'll be back - tan, rested, and ready, as the old "Re-elect Nixon" T-shirt used to say.

ACS: Do you share musical tastes with Tres or Garrett? Who are your favorite Texas musicians?

RR: I love Texas music - always have, since I first picked up Nanci Griffith's Last of the True Believers. I like Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark, Joe Ely, Toni Price, Lucinda Williams, Kelly Willis - you name it. I don't think I could survive without my uncle's yearly Christmas present of the KGSR CD. And no trip to Austin would be complete without a visit to Waterloo.

ACS: You starting winning awards with your first novel. Have you enjoyed the critical attention? Did the awards translate into larger paychecks and better treatment from your publisher?

RR: No writer is going to turn down awards. It's hard to say how much the awards have helped the series, since I don't know what sales would've been like without them, but they didn't hurt. I don't think the awards had much influence on my writing process, other than surprising the hell out of me when I won them. If anything, they reinforced the direction I was going anyway, by reassuring me that somebody out there likes my stuff. Who can hope for better than that?

ACS: Since you're a mystery writer, we assume that you're also a mystery reader. Who were your favorite writers when you were first getting into the genre? Are there any current authors whose work you like?

RR: The first mystery novel I remember reading was Robert B. Parker's A Savage Place, which I came across right after graduating high school. Parker got me hooked on the hardboiled. From there I went backwards and discovered Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The last genre book I read was Ross MacDonald's The Blue Hammer. I'm just warming up to him. For modern mystery writers, I'm a fan of Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Jim Sallis, Dennis Lehane, Robert Crais, and a slew of others.

ACS: From the Asimov's rejection letter on your web site, we see that you formerly tried to write science fiction and fantasy. Do you plan to try your hand at SF again?

RR: When I was young, I read mostly fantasy or science fiction, starting with the Lord of the Rings, and my early attempts at writing were along those lines. I don't read sci fi or fantasy much anymore, so I'm out of the loop with what's going on in those genres. If I ever did try to write in the genre, I'd have to get back into reading it first. No immediate plans to do that. Then again, I had no idea I was going to write mysteries until the idea for Big Red Tequila grabbed me by the throat. So who knows?

ACS: Do you have much contact with other Central Texas mystery writers?

RR: We have a great community of writers in central Texas, and I've had the chance to get to know most of them. I always look forward to the Texas Book Festival and Texas Writers Month, because I get to do panels and signings with those folks.

ACS: You recently moved back to San Antonio after being in California for several years. What are the biggest changes you noticed in the city?

RR: I probably didn't notice San Antonio's growth at first, because I was coming back from the Bay Area and S.A. still seemed small by comparison. Also, I live in the middle of town, which hasn't changed that much. You don't notice the changes in S.A. until you get on the highway at rush hour or go out to Loop 1604, which used to be ranchland, and is now non-stop development. The character of the city hasn't really changed, as far as I can tell. The population growth has been dramatic, yes, though not as dramatic as Austin' s.

ACS: What's next for Rick Riordan and Tres Navarre?

RR: Tres Navarre will take a one-book hiatus after Devil, and then he will be back in his home territory of San Antonio. You can look for the return of Ralph Arguello and Ana DeLeon, and of course Robert Johnson the enchilada-eating cat. As for Rick Riordan, he is putting the finishing touches on a stand-alone thriller - the coolest damn thing he's ever written, if he does say so himself -- which will be out in 2002.