Award-winning author Peter Berk on the strength of ordinary people and his new novel, FireLine

Storytelling runs deep in Peter Berk’s DNA. The longtime IngramElliott Publishing collaborator and award-winning novelist and screenwriter grew up watching his father, Howard Berk, craft the pulse-pounding worlds behind television classics like Columbo, Mission: Impossible, and The Rockford Files—then carried that creative spark forward in his own action-packed work.
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Now Peter is turning up the heat with FireLine, IngramElliott’s dazzling new action/thriller and the first book in an electrifying new series. Blending razor-sharp wit, relentless momentum, and timely themes about the fragile planet we all share, FireLine promises a high-stakes ride for longtime fans—and the perfect entry point for readers discovering Peter Berk for the first time.

Available August 18 - Pre-Order Your Copy Today!

The world is burning. The clock is ticking. 

A rogue experiment ignites America's rivers. A lone chemist races from Washington, DC, to the Statue of Liberty to stop a world-ending firestorm.

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Exclusive Interview - Peter Berk

We caught up with the author ahead of the release of his new action/thriller, FireLine. 

Award-winning author Peter Berk

Which authors or books have most influenced your writing style?

The greatest influence on my writing was actually my own father, Howard Berk, whose credits included such classic series as "Columbo," "Mission: Impossible" and "The Rockford Files." In addition to reading his work and seeing it brought to life on the big and small screen, I had the great pleasure of working with him on several screenplays that became the basis of the TimeLock series of novels from IngramElliott (three so far with more to come). ​

​Connect with the author on Facebook and Instagram @peterberk_author

Writing with my dad was both inspirational and educational as I watched him take his time first to conduct exhaustive research and then to make sure every bit of narrative and dialogue was as richly compelling as it could possibly be. Perhaps most impressively, he was able to move from high-stakes drama to lighthearted comedy without missing a beat - sometimes within the same screenplay or novel. For these reasons and many more, being able to honor his memory thanks to IngramElliott continues to be one of the most rewarding chapters of my entire life.​​

What do you hope readers take away from your work, beyond the story itself?
I try to avoid being overtly preachy or message-oriented, but I of course hope readers are not only entertained by my novels but may be inspired to see how possible it can be for so-called "ordinary" people like the ones I tend to write about to find an inner strength within they perhaps didn't know they had and to heroically tackle obstacles they didn't know they could overcome.

Do you have any rituals or routines that help you get into a writing mindset?
The honest truth is that it takes very little effort for me to get into a writing mindset since I love the process so much - even when faced with the inevitable bouts of writer's block. No question that there are times working out a storyline or making a new character compelling enough to read about can be challenging, to say the least, but most days I can't wait to get to work because I'm as invested in what will happen to my characters as I hope my readers will be.

How do you approach editing and revisions—do you find it enjoyable or challenging?
Early in my writing career, I probably wasn't always a good sport when given a list of suggested edits and revisions, especially since many of them required substantial rewrites. But over the years, I finally realized that every time I made those changes, the piece in question was unquestionably better. Now, when the great team at IngramElliott sends me notes about a new work, I'm truly excited to read them since I know each revision will only improve the manuscript and ultimately guarantee a better reading experience.

Are you currently working on any new projects or ideas you’d like to share?
I'm especially excited about Merrilake Falls, my next novel with IngramElliott, since it's a bit of a departure for me in terms of character and storyline. Focusing on a single mother (the first time one of my novels has featured a female lead) who moves back to her picturesque hometown of Merrilake Falls in British Columbia, the story - combining romance, drama, science fiction and hopefully a bit of humor - follows the arrival of a mysterious galactic cloud that causes the town to be split into two side-by-side interacting time periods, the present and 1882, and leads our heroine to meet a man from the past who might just represent her future. The book is intended as the first in a new series and has also been written as a television pilot script currently being shopped to producers and production companies in the U.S. and Canada.

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"...I hope readers may be inspired to see how possible it can be for so-called "ordinary" people like the ones I tend to write about to find an inner strength."