Borders Staff: We hear there's a new fictional detective in town. Who is the Shooting Shrink? We’ve been hearing a lot about him in the store. He appears in Gun Play, your first novel, right?

Michael: Yes, the Shooting Shrink is Palm Springs's own fictional detective hero, Dr. Tom Reynolds, Palm Springs police psychologist. With the help of his best friend, Lieutenant Brett Wade, also P.S.P.D. ,"Doc" Reynolds sets out to solve his first crime, the professional murder of an accountant on the eighteenth tee at Tahquitz.

Borders: Where did you get the idea for Gun Play and the Shooting Shrink?

Michael: I'm a semi-retired psychologist who worked with police officers, and I spend a lot of time here in Palm Springs. One spring morning, I met a homeless street musician on the outside patio at the downtown Starbucks. He was camped out near Tahquitz Golf Course where I had already imagined a professional hit having taken place. Bang! Bang! I turned the real homeless kid into a fictional 'wit', what the cops call a witness. I imagined my hero, Doc, and his police lieutenant friend, Brett, trying to keep this kid alive. Gun Play was off and running.

Borders: We hear your bad guy, named Bocca, is really bad.

Michael: Well, Bocca pops the accountant from 150 yards off the eighteenth at Tahquitz with a Glock .40 and then leaves the gun so the cops know how good he really is.

Borders: We heard that Gun Play is a good way for both visitors and residents to learn more about the valley.

Michael: One of the nicest compliments I keep getting for my writing in Gun Play is how well I paint the people and the place. I must confess it's easy for me because it's a labor of love.

Borders: We hear that you have some friends in the real Palm Springs Police Department.

Michael: Sgt. Mitch Spike wrote a really nice blurb on the cover of Gun Play. He is an excellent editor, as well. He found mistakes in the first edition of Gun Play that the publisher didn't. When I get the opportunity, I ride-along with officers. I try to guest on Radio Call, the police call-in show whenever I'm in town.

Borders: Did the typos get fixed?

Michael: In the second edition, the typos got fixed.

Borders: Otherwise you would have gotten a ticket, right?

Laughter.

Borders: What are your thoughts about the future for the Shooting Shrink Series?

Michael: We plan to have a nice long series and have the Shooting Shrink show us a lot of the Springs and the valley. Besides, my wife and I are considering buying a home here in the valley.

Borders: You'd better get to writing, then.

Michael: Yeah.

Borders: How can your fans reach you?

Michael: At my website: www.shootingshrink.com.

Borders: Thank you for joining us.

Michael: My privilege.