My Writing Process:
The first book took about 6 years of writes and rewrites. All 10 different versions are saved on a thumb drive somewhere. Version 9, I thought was golden. I ran it through an author peer group set up by a local publisher. I had visions of accolades and rave reviews, but those visions were dashed. With a hammer. They felt the story was limited by the ‘first-person’ writing style of the story. In first-person, the main character’s personality colors things, but there is also the personality of the narrator, and action sequences have some personality sprinkled in. All of these personalities were difficult to separate in my writing, I guess. The publisher advised converting my 300-page story into third-person for clarity. It might fit my writing style better. Ouch.
After about 12 months of sulking, I sat down with my story again. Taking on a complete rewrite to third-person style was a tall mountain to climb. Especially when standing at the bottom of the mountain. I asked my mentor, Debra Gaskill, an author with many published books, if I should continue to pursue this story?
“If the story still inspires you and drives you, then you should. If there is no drive, no energy, let it go. Maybe another story idea will come along. But if you have that push, continue.” Great advise.
So I took the story back on again. During my sulking period, I concluded that I could make it better and use some pieces from previous versions to round it out. I created a new character named Dominic the Ham Radio guy to speak most of my conspiracy theory narration. He really grew on me and has somewhat taken over my series. The third book sees much from him.
Third person writing has become my go to, except when actually talking about myself. It sounds too much like a resume to share things about myself in third person, and a little pompus. Lee Childs stated it very well in an interview stating that ‘Writing is the most egotistical job there is. Just to think that thousands of people would want to read the things you write is beyond egotistical.’ A very grounding statement.
The Cold Winter was published August 17 2017. My father passed two weeks later. I brought the first copy to show him in the ICU. He had struggled with COPD for ten years. A man of minimal education, he was proud of his son, but he was also fighting for his life.
The accomplishment was difficult to cheer about, in light of everything, but life goes on. That was a statement my father said often: Life goes on. A bluegrass benefit called the Musicians Against Childhood Cancer built a song around his words. The recording became the title track of a commemorative album and eased some of the artist’s suffering. So, life does go on.
The book sold well, better than expected, and promoting it kept me busy. A humorous folly of a story had been festering in my mind for a while that year. I decided to put it on paper as a treatment for this pain. It became the Creatures of Holden Beach.
The ‘Creatures’ story was originally just about a couple of guys trying to create an internet viral hoax of an alien sighting. The whole process of how they did it, the sheriff chasing after them, and how they managed to win at the end. The finished story was sent to my beta editor, Mr. McCaffery, and he felt something was missing. He felt it was cool that the Sheriff was dealing with the nuisance of the sighting, but he needed to be doing more. “Like solving a murder?” was my answer.
The phone call didn’t last much longer, because I was eager to jump in and add the new twist. I am very proud of how the story turned out, but I am even more happy with the screenplay version of the book. I changed a few things to streamline the story for the screenplay and made the dialog even cooler than it already was. I have gotten some professional reviews of the screenplay, and the dialog seems to be the highlight for them as well.
The Cold Winter: Call to Arms was another work that helped me keep my sanity. I had most of the book written when I accepted a job contract seven hours from home in Evansville Indiana. I picked up an Air B&B and busied myself in the evenings finishing the book and dealing with the painful task of book cover production. It was difficult being away from my family during the week, but the book kept me sane. Sort of.
I released the book in the spring of 2019 to rave reviews. The cliffhanger ending of the first Cold Winter brought readers back wanting answers. Of course, another cliffhanger follows in the second book, but there was something of more concern: My introduction of a virus. A virus that is a deadly mutation of the flu, mixed with smallpox, and it appears to be man-made. The whole conspiracy theory concept of another government using a virus as a weapon – or even our own government – had sunk in pretty deep for me while writing it. Now watching a virus rampage our country and the world has put my head to spinning off my shoulders. It’s time for writing to save my sanity once again!
So, I built this website to kick myself in the butt to get back on the horse and ride. (Or on the pen and write?) Either way, I’m not leaving my main characters on the helicopter, they need to save the day. And save my sanity.
When I finished the second book, I had no idea what would happen next. None. A mission on the river. But as I worked in Evansville more, the LST really intrigued me. I toured it multiple times and asked some folks in charge if they minded my use of the ship in my story. I left some books with them and waited for an answer. The resoundingly positive response I received was wonderful. My writing style was felt to be a good fit for their battleship.
Armed with positivity, I approached the Army Aviation Foundation. A group that flies Huey helicopters at air shows and gives rides. I volunteered at a couple of shows, just doing anything to help but also interviewing the pilots. I heard some good stories and I saw what it felt like to ride in those birds. It is exhilarating, I must say!
I also spent some time at the Ohio River Locks and toured one. The river locks are an amazing feat of engineering, and I am drawn to them. I also spent a weekend on Wheeling Island to get a feel for the size and layout of the place. I could visualize the battle on that island, and it was great to be there in person. I use 800 miles of the Ohio River, I could not visit all the areas mentioned in the book. However, I enjoyed the hands-on portions of research that I managed to do.
The third book of the series has gone through some changes since I started, but I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.
Thanks for reading, there will be more to come!!!!!