An Interview With Best Selling Prison Author Glenn Langohr

An Interview With Best Selling Prison Author Glenn Langohr

Posted on March 28, 2013by lockdownpublishing

How much of yourself is hidden in the characters in your books? A lot. I lived a life as a drug criminal for many years. It started as a runaway at the age of 12. It continued for 20 more years. Through writing, I found a spiritual way to deal with it in a positive way.

How much of a story do you have in mind before you start writing? I usually have the story already done before I start. Of course a few new twists and turns can happen but for the most part, I see the story as if it is a movie.

How do you develop and differentiate your characters? I paint with the true colors of life, with real characters, so they are divided by different drug gangs, different races, different sides of the law and different motivations.

Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track? At times, my writing turns to fiction to transition the story from point A to point B and that Is when it gets hard to stay on track. Sometimes I have to throw away sections and start over.

How (or when) do you decide that you are finished writing a story? In the beginning that was hard because I wanted the perfect ending. My first novel, Roll Call: A True Crime Prison Story of Corruption and Redemption is 700 pages but I got the perfect ending! Kirkus Discoveries from NY Nielson Media reviewed it and called me a “Master Director” and said, “A Harrowing-Down-and-Dirty Depiction of the U.S. War on Drugs” they also related it to my favorite drug war movie “Traffic”.

Now all my books are way shorter. I figured out how to end them a little easier.

Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp? I have nine drug war and prison books that are meant to do two things. I strive to shine a light on how “tough on crime” political platforms are hurting us as a society because they aren’t “smart on crime” and we need more compassion in relation to the drug laws. My books show human beings being sent to prison who are addicted to drugs and fighting poverty the only way they know how. While in prison, the readers can see for themselves that the addiction is bred into an affliction much harder to escape, where gangs, tattoos and violence are the solution to the pressure. What do you think that does for the community when those petty drug criminals are released without any new skills or way to live, starting over from scratch, without a job, or a place to live?

What are you working on right now? The TV show “Lock Up Abroad” interviewed me for the upcoming season that is going to focus on U.S. Prisons. They want me to write a story without any fiction at all about my time in prison toward the end of my sentence when some crazy stuff happened.

Have you always wanted to be a writer? No, I never imagined it until I was in prison for 10 years and stuck in a cell in solitary confinement.

At what age did you discover your love of writing? I was 32 years old at the time.

What was the first story that you wrote? Roll Call: A True Crime Prison Story of Corruption and Redemption.

When were you first published? How were you discovered? I published in 2009 after sending my manuscript to a bunch of publishers.

What is the most difficult part of the whole writing process? Going over it again and again to make it perfect. The rewriting can be overwhelming and it takes other professional readers and authors to add their thoughts.

What do you like to read? I love suspense thrillers, romance, young adult, crime anything, mystery and Westerns.

What writer influences you the most? There are so many it is hard to name one. Lee Childs is fantastic. James Patterson writes short chapters the way I do. James Clavelle writes culture the way I do.

If your book was made into a TV series or Movie, which actors would you like to see playing your characters? I envision making stars out of real prisoners who are in my books. Why have someone pretend to be a Mexican Mobster or Hell’s Angel when the real thing is available?

Where can people learn more about you and your books?

rollcallthebook@gmail.com

To purchase Glenn’s books in print, kindle or audio in the UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00571NY5A

In the US http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00571NY5A

To contact Glenn on facebook~https://www.facebook.com/glennlangohrcalifornia

To contact Glenn on Linkedin ~ http://linkd.in/ZH8lc7 Glenn’s audio books for a free sample on Amazon~ http://amzn.to/Yi9Uxo 

http://www.lockdownpubishing.com

http://www.audiobookprisonstories.com

Thrice the mischief,3 times the love: Review of Roll Call by Glenn Langohr

Thrice the mischief,3 times the love: Review of Roll Call by Glenn Langohr: Book Blurb: "Whacks you aside the head with the force of a baseball bat. Langohr's incredible description of his fight for survival in pri...

Pick Up My Prison Thriller Race Riot while it's .99 cents so I can climb the Amazon rankings!

Here's the intro- "A raw, breathless descent through the inner circle of the California Penal Hell. Fraught with detail that only someone who's been there could know." Phillip Doran, TV Producer and author
B.J, a drug dealer serving time, takes the reader on a never before seen, inside look at a California maximum security prison. The inner dynamics between prison guards, gang investigators and the Warden are on display along with the political climate between races with a war brewing between the Mexicans and Blacks. A piercing account of the process for gang validation into solitary confinement at Pelican Bay's SHU through the eyes of inmates struggling to survive gang wars, in prison drug debts, prison politics, rules and regulations, and ultimately power and control, while desperately trying to find a path for redemption along the way. THIS BOOK IS FREE FOR Amazon PRIME MEMBERS. But also found at in audio book and other retailers. 

Interview with Author Glenn Langohr, owner of lockdownpublishing

Glenn Langohr - Roll Call 07/15/2012 1 Comment   Click cover to purchase from Amazon US Tell us about Roll Call: [Click above to purchase from Amazon UK] "Spellbinding story of the drug war. A page turner! A full robust story and an inside look at California's harshest prisons." ~ Orange County Reviews Roll Call is a true prison story with a cast of characters that include Mexican drug cartels, Southern California street gangs and Hell's Angels all fighting for their piece of the drug culture. In the middle of it all, B.J. is hell bent for destruction until he realizes his destiny in the nick of time.  Click image for Glenn's blog Glenn's Bio: [Click above for Glenn's FB page] Glenn Langohr resides in southern California where he spends his time doing what he loves best, reading and writing. He started writing from prison on drug charges and hasn't stopped since. He is an usher at his church and loves to reach out to other prisoners to help them turn their lives around. Glenn is married to his dream girl, Sanette, who plays Annette in one of his novels.  A brief chat with Glenn: [Click above for another of Glenn's FB pages] Glenn Langohr: In Prison on Drug Charges for 10 Years, Now Author Of 5 Books, Roll Call, Upon Release and the Series, A California Pelican Bay Prison StoryIn his drug war novel Roll Call, Glenn Langohr illustrates how the U.S. has made drugs more desirable by making them taboo, which has increased the demand for them, throwing gasoline on Mexican cartel wars, along with breeding gangs in California's prisons. "Those without sin cast the first stone." A released Pelican Bay inmate sends video evidence of a District Attorney's son selling drugs in Roll Call San Clemente, CA (PRWEB) November 30, 2011 “For the last 6 years of my incarceration I woke up at 4 AM every morning to write, before the on-rush of prison life took over, to finish my drug war novel Roll Call.” States Langohr, “I felt compelled to write, to open the eyes of the community, that the drug war is a spiritual war.” Roll Call, available in print and e-book retailers, follows Glenn Langohr’s path portrayed as B.J.; from being raised by the Angelic mother he is torn from, to becoming a drug dealer, always trying to find a way out of the dark life of an addict. In another thread the path of three large Mexican cartel members have a hungry quest to obtain U.S. money and delves into how the Sinaloa and Michoacán cartels commit thousands of murders and deceptions for control of the drug trade. The cartel paths inevitably meet B.J. in Orange County, California leading to a roller coaster ride of excitement through drug smuggling cartels, to street gangs, to outlaw bikers, all trying to get their piece of the action. Add a good detective squeezed out of the loop by an overzealous narcotic detective; a robust prison union trying to call the shots; and a handful of other drug criminals trying to hold on to their conscience; and, you have the perfect recipe for a revolutionary uprising, bound by blood; all leaving the reader wondering, who are the real criminals? Kirkus Discoveries Nielson Media Review “A Harrowing down-and-dirty depiction of the U.S. War on Drugs, sometimes reminiscent of Soderbergh’s Traffic, by former dealer, California artist Langohr.” Upon Release from prison, Glenn Langohr finished the sequel to Roll Call, Upon Release, along with A California Pelican Bay Prison Story, Lock Up Diaries and Gladiator. He started Lockdownpublishing to help other prisoners turn their lives around through writing and art. See his u-tube video. Roll Call is available in print for 19.99 and .99 cents in e-book at all retailers. The sequel to Roll Call, Upon Release , A California Pelican Bay Prison Story-Race Riot, Lock Up Diaries and Gladiator is available for .99 cents in e-book. Available for interviews and speaking engagements.