The Favor by Steve Badman
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The Favor
Brian Turner is a family man, something he is proud of more than his carpentry skills, and he’s considered a great carpenter and general contractor. He is content in his life, the simple joy of dropping his daughter off at school on his way to his latest job site feels like life can’t get much better. That changes in an instant as he sits in the drop off lane in front of his daughter’s school, watching her walk inside.
The knock on his window is not disturbing until the out-of-place New York accent, confirming his identity, reaches his ears.
“I hear you’re pretty good at fixin’ old farmhouses,” the man attached to the accent replied as he pushed an unmarked cardboard box through the partially open window. “I got a job for you, but I can’t talk about it now. Everything’s inside the box. I’ll check back with you later today.”
Puzzled, Brian did not notice the man turn and leave, his attention immediately fixated on the box now in his lap and carefully opened it. Inside lay cash, two large envelopes, photographs, and a cell phone. He picked up the cell phone and stared at it, perplexed, before opening the first envelope finding photographs of a man, he did not know standing in a mansion he had never seen. However, it was the contents of the second envelope that made his blook run cold – photographs of his wife Lisa, his daughter Sadie, and their three dogs. He found more photos, this time of the interior of his home.
Realizing the phone was an open line, he was ready to release his outrage when a voice came through that turned everything upside down. “You owe us a favor. Did you forget?”
To save those he loves, Brian once again must become the man he had hoped would remain in his past, in order to fulfill… “The Favor.”
To purchase The Favor click any of the following links: Amazon, B&N, and Imzadi Publishing.
Interview with Steve Badman, Author of The Favor
The Favor centers on Brian Turner, what would you like readers to know about him?
Brian Turner is above all, a loving father. His marriage isn’t so hot but his two daughters are his pride and joy.
He is hard-working, making ends meet barely, but he is a devoted father of two exceptional young ladies whom he would do anything to protect.
Tell us about the locations in The Favor. How do the places where events take place impact the characters?
I’ve heard “write what you know” enough times to take heed. So I know the Lehigh Valley/Upper Bucks County, PA area. It was a no-brainer to have the characters live there.
As far as New Concord, KY goes, I needed a location that was far away from the Turners’ home to be a challenge, and I wanted it to be near a big lake. I am not familiar with New Concord, which I felt was a benefit so I could write from the Turners’ perspective as they too would be unfamiliar with the town.
What was your inspiration for your debut thriller The Favor?
I read an interview with Stephen King (I wasn’t reading WITH him, I do not know the man. The interview was with him 😊) and King suggested something along the lines of thinking about what would be the most horrible thing you can imagine occurring and toss it into everyday life.
It took some deep reflection, but I finally decided the most horrible thing for me would be to have done something or neglected to do something that would adversely impact my kids. Brian Turner did just that with his dealing weed in the 1980’s. It came back 35 years later to bite him.
Tell us about your road to publication for The Favor:
I proudly state that I had about two dozen rejections which is about ten fewer than JK Rowling had before somebody thought that Harry Potter may have some commercial viability.
I have been writing manuscripts for about 15 years, and I decided nobody was going to randomly knock on my door and publish me. So, I figured I would contact 3-5 agents one week, then 3-5 publishers the next week and keep doing so until I either got published/representation or was the subject of a class action restraining order from the entire literary industry. Fortunately, Imzadi offered me a contract.
I am excited that it won an Independent Press Award for suspense novel. My wife and I will be attending a dinner in Newark in May.
When you aren’t writing thrillers, you’re off doing obstacle course races. What are those like and what compels you to do them?
I have always loved sports and working out. I was a gym rat before kids and I also raced bicycles more often than not in a Velodrome (banked curves, no brakes, 100% adrenaline). The kids came along and I didn’t have time so I coached.
When they got older, I slowly got back into the gym but I had an accident at work and damaged my shoulder. After rotator cuff surgery and physical therapy, I felt that I needed a goal to work toward. I was looking at the OCRs (Obstacle course races) and I guess I mentioned Spartan out loud. My older daughter said, “Spartan Race? I’ll do it with you!”
I tried to say that I was just thinking about it but my younger daughter said, “What about a Spartan?” Older says, “Dad wants to do a Spartan Race.” I did not say that. “Younger said, “Oh cool. I’ll call Emma. She and her dad will do one too.” So before I knew it, there were 4 people wanting to do a Spartan Race that I wasn’t sure I wanted to do. But at this point, I couldn’t say no.
So I trained my butt off and we got there and there were storms forecasted so the race was cancelled. My older daughter and I found a Tough Mudder in New York a few weeks later. My younger daughter was entering her freshman year in college and had to leave early for soccer so it was just the older one and me. We had a blast and I have loved doing them with my kids and mostly their friends ever since. My friends, except for Emma’s dad, are too out of shape and don’t have any inclination of spending lots of money, traveling far away and beating the hell out of themselves. I don’t get it.
So the OCRs range from 3-15 miles for the most part and have 20-30 obstacles. Most of them are on ski slopes or other miserable terrain. We did one in Garrestville Ohio that was about 12 miles of knee-deep mud. It is a hard slog but the feeling of accomplishment at finishing one of those things is amazing. The fact that normal people don’t really do these things is fun for me. I don’t want to ever be average.
I have two scheduled with my daughters thus far this year and then I am scheduled by myself to try a Spartan ultra in Killington in September. That is 31 miles and 60 obstacles. I may chicken out on that and do the next race down from that, depends how my summer goes with working out.
My daughters and I also ran the Philly Marathon the past two years (I am done, not doing that s**t again) and we ski a few times in the winter.
My wife doesn’t understand why we do this stuff and she enjoys the quiet weekends with the dogs.
What are you working on now?
I am a self-employed carpenter and general contractor. That takes up the majority of my time but I try to devote 30-60 minutes early each morning to write. I am about 65K words into the sequel to The Favor and I have two other manuscripts I had started that I will focus on once I complete the sequel. I have a complete manuscript that I am going to shop again. It is intended to be humorous and the people who have read it, have liked it. I stopped shopping it when The Favor was accepted by Imzadi Press.
Words of Wisdom for aspiring writers:
I don’t feel entirely qualified to offer much in the way of wisdom. I’ve had one novel published. I hope to have more but for now, I am still a rookie. I will suggest, however, having people read your manuscript who are not afraid to hurt your feelings. I’d rather hear that the manuscript is flawed than proceed on false praise.
Oh, and be very selective in the title. It absolutely never dawned on me that The Favor might be the name of roughly two gazillion other novels and movies. Duh.
Author Pet Corner!
Riley is our 12 year old Husky.
Then we have our two year old Great Pyrenees Spencer.
Author of The Favor Steve Badman
Steve Badman lives with his wife, kids, and their adventurous dogs in the picturesque Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. When they’re not skiing, kayaking, or hiking, Steve and his daughters are tackling grueling obstacle course races—mud, sweat, and all—while Mrs. Badman lovingly questions their sanity.
A graduate of East Stroudsburg University, Steve spent decades in residential construction as a self-employed carpenter and general contractor. Along the way, he encountered a colorful array of people whose quirks and passions inspired the vibrant characters in his writing.
Steve’s other passions include homebrewing beer and rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles, a family tradition bolstered by 27 years of season tickets. Whether he’s observing fan antics in the stands or swapping stories over a craft brew, he calls it “research” for his next book—though others might call it people-watching.
Curious about his work? Check out the 2025 winner of The Independent Press Awards, The Favor, Steve’s debut action-packed novel and see how his life experiences shape his storytelling.
