Authors at Home: Dr. Ian K. Smith, “Wolf Point”
Today we’ve got Dr. Ian K. Smith in the spotlight for our Authors at Home feature. His latest book, Wolf Point (Thomas & Mercer, October 5), is the follow-up to The Unspoken, and focuses on P.I. Ashe Cayne as he works to clean up the corruption in the harsh streets of Chicago. We spoke with Dr. Ian K. Smith about new projects and how he navigates his roles as both a doctor and an author. Read on to learn more about Dr. Ian K. Smith and what he enjoys doing when he’s not writing!
What is your favorite food? Your go-to drink?
One of my favorite go-to meals is salmon on a bed of mashed potatoes and cucumbers. In fact, in my first novel, The Blackbird Papers, that is the last meal eaten by one of the main characters before he meets an untimely end. I love fresh juice whether it’s apple or orange, and I’m always up for a good cold glass of apple cider.
What are some necessary items you have on hand to get you through a writing session?
I like to have music available to me, and the genre depends on the mood I’m in. I listen to classical, hip hop. pop, R & B, throwbacks — almost anything depending on what I find inspirational or soothing at the time. I also like to have snacks — usually crackers or sourdough pretzels — and something cold to drink. I like to do a lot of research on concepts, people, places, or situations that appear in my novels, so I need internet access via WiFi or my phone.
What projects should we look out for in the future? Any new books in the works?
The Ashe Cayne series is in final negotiations to be turned into a streaming TV series. Fingers crossed. I’m really excited about this, as I’ve always believed as someone who watches and studies a tremendous amount of this genre content on streaming platforms, that Ashe Cayne would work well in this space. The next book is already written, as I write a year in advance. It’s about a local news anchor who’s caught up in a ratings war that suddenly turns deadly. It’s a really fun book and taps into my years of living and working in the TV business. I’m excited to bring my insider’s knowledge of the media, particularly, the newsroom, to the story and share it with readers.
You are a doctor and an author; how do you navigate both of these vastly different worlds?
It’s fun to live in two very different worlds as they often tug and pull on different parts of my brain. However, what most people don’t know is that they often pull on the same creative muscle. People mistakenly think that doctors and scientists are not creative people and that it’s a binary situation where you’re either a math/science person or you’re a creative/artistic person. I have posited for years that a person can be both and do both quite well. When I write my nonfiction health books, there’s a lot of research and reporting more science-based findings, but that still requires some creativity to write a book that’s appealing and accessible to readers. When I write my fiction like The Ancient Nine and Wolf Point, I’m allowed to let my mind roam freely, but I still do lots of research and try to keep certain aspects facts-based so it adds more authenticity to the story.
When you’re not writing or doctoring, what do you enjoy doing? What relaxes you?
I am a huge sportsman. I love golf as does Ashe Cayne, my private investigator who is hopelessly addicted to it in my novels. I also play a lot of tennis, work out a lot, and read whenever I’m not in the middle of writing a book. I try not to read other books while I’m writing my novels as I don’t want to be unconsciously influenced. I also like to watch a lot of crime fiction as well as food and travel shows on streaming services.
What was the process of researching this book? This story is based off a true story. How did you first hear about this case and what inspired you to write this novel?
It was a pretty straightforward process. I had heard of a case of a well-connected Chicago man who in many ways had a huge personality and was suddenly found half-submerged in the Chicago River at Wolf Point, dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot. The story caught my attention several years ago, and I went online as well as to others who knew this man and asked them what they thought really happened and what the background was that might’ve led to this unfortunate ending. I love researching and I’m very hands on. I talk to people, consult experts, use the internet, and whenever possible, physically go to the places I write about so I can allow my senses to absorb the environment. This allows me to write easier and with more texture.
How has your personal experience and interactions with local officers and detectives influenced your books?
I spent a year fitness training many Chicago police officers. It was a great experience. I got to befriend many of them and they taught me a lot about their work and what they really do that is different from the public perception and what you see on TV. They took me out at night on ride-alongs and I got to see the tough Chicago streets from a very different perspective. I’ve remained in touch with several of the officers and they help me when I’m doing research and trying to get the police procedural work as correct as possible. I also learned that policing is not always black and white and that it mostly lives in the gray area. There are layers of complexities involved and the police work with informants and the community in ways that are not always by the book or what would be expected, but they are methods that can be mutually effective.
What is one big message you want readers to take away from Wolf Point?
I’m not really sure there’s the proverbial big message. I want readers to walk away from this book feeling entertained and appreciative that they got an insider’s view of how things really happen in Chicago and how complicated a big city like this can be, yet simple in the way conflict is created and resolved. Whether you live in a city of 2,000 or a city of 3 million, people are still people and the motives for murder and scandal are extremely common and not very extensive.
Book Summary:
In the second installment of the suspense-filled series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ian K. Smith, an ex-cop turned private investigator seeks to fight corruption on the streets of Chicago.
A Cadillac, a pistol, and a corpse make for another morning in Chicago. The body belongs to Walter Griffin, a prominent Black Chicagoan insider hailing from the city’s West Side. He ascended to the upper echelons of the mayor’s office only to meet his end in a watery grave at Wolf Point. Forensics finds his prints on the gun; it’s ruled a suicide.
But grizzled private investigator Ashe Cayne knows better.
Griffin’s children plead with a reluctant Ashe to hunt their father’s killer. They know their dad wouldn’t have taken his own life without a goodbye. And Ashe knows this town’s dark secrets often mean murder is not too far away.
Ashe decides to take on the case and navigate a city rotting with corruption, racial tensions, and sketchy backroom deals. On the bleak streets of Chicago, it’s every man for himself — and that makes everyone a suspect.
About Dr. Ian K. Smith:
Ian K. Smith, M.D., is best known for his #1 New York Times bestselling health books, including SHRED: The Revolutionary Diet, The Clean 20, Clean and Lean, and his most recent book, FAST BURN. He is also an accomplished thriller writer and penned The Blackbird Papers (2005 BCALA fiction Honor Book Award winner), The Ancient Nine, and The Unspoken, which launched the Ashe Cayne series in 2020. Wolf Point, the sequel, publishes October 5, 2021 by Thomas & Mercer.
Dr. Ian K. Smith was previously the host of the nationally syndicated Emmy award-winning television show, The Doctors, and is a longtime medical contributor to Emmy award-winning The Rachael Ray Show. He also served as the medical/diet expert for six seasons on VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club and is the creator and founder of the national health initiatives The 50 Million Pound Challenge and The Makeover Mile. Dr. Smith is the former medical correspondent for NBC News network and NewsChannel 4 in New York, where Smith filed reports for NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, and WNBC’s various news broadcasts. He has also written for multiple publications, including Time, Newsweek, Men’s Fitness, and the New York Daily News. He has been featured in People, Redbook, Details Magazine, Essence, Ebony, the University of Chicago magazine, Cosmopolitan, and Black Enterprise.
President Obama appointed Dr. Smith to the prestigious ‘President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition,’ where Smith served for eight years. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has honored his September 11, 2001 tragedy coverage. Dr. Smith has also served on the boards of the American Council on Exercise, the New York Mission Society, the Prevent Cancer Foundation, The New York Council for the Humanities, and The Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity.
Ian K. Smith graduated from Harvard College and received his master’s degree in science education from Teachers College of Columbia University. He attended Dartmouth Medical School, completed the last two years, and graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.
Connect with Dr. Ian K. Smith:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram: @doctoriansmith, @iamashecayne
