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Q. Why did you become a writer?
A. Because I cannot remember a time when I was not trying to write on some level.
When I was a child an older sister read a storybook to me so many times I had it
memorized. It had an unsatisfactory ending and I scribbled my idea of how it
should have ended in the margin. I read endlessly, and it was only natural that
my interest evolved into actively pursuing writing in an active way.
Q. What was your first sale?
A. My first sale was a long time in coming, but it was to Reader’s Digest Magazine.
Rejections from so many editors in the following months were hard to take after
publishing my first piece in a prestigious magazine.
Q. So where did you publish after your Reader’s Digest? Did you lower your
expectations about where you should submit?
A. A writer never lowers his expectations, but you become more aware that submitting to the right magazine is important.
Q. Who were some of the publishers who published your work?
A. I published in Reader’s digest, Northwoods Journal, The Tennessee
Conservationist, plus many other regional magazines. The important thing to
remember is to keep writing and keep submitting. I was always writing and
nothing was too small to receive my attention. I wrote a newsletter for an athletic
club for several years. Each of these tasks gave me confidence and experience.
Q. When will your next novel be published?
A. It will be in the bookstores around the first of August, 2008.
Q. Do you have your next novel in the plotting stage?
A. Actually, it is almost finished. Abraham’s Bones is the first in a series of novels
about the Middle East. The second book has the working title of The Relic, and I will probably call the third Rapture.
Q. When I saw a description of your novels on your blog, I was surprised to see
that you weren’t a genre writer.
A. I am never sure what someone means when they label someone as a genre writer.
I suppose you mean that a writer should write just one kind of book. I like to
write different things. I have written a historical western, a thriller, and I have
just finished a book classified as suspense. I write whatever appeals to me.
Q. I have this great idea for a book. Would you be willing to help me?
A. No. If you think it is a great idea, then you should try to write this story yourself.
The process of setting down in front of a keyboard and actually putting the words
on paper is the only way a writer will ever develop his or her talent. Several
beginning writers have suggested ideas to me, but what they don’t yet understand
is that a writer has an endless number of similar ideas in their head or already
down in their journals. Most of the ideas suggested by beginning writers are
actually short plots. Someone once said that there are only 99 plots and
everything written is just variations on the theme.
Q. How do you do your research?
A. If there were one common element in everyone who calls himself or herself a
writer, it would be endless research. I have read for all of my life, and I am
naturally interested in all kinds of details. I file ideas from newspapers,
magazines, notes from everyday occurrences and glance at them occasionally.
When I decide to write a novel on some particular subject, most of the research is
already there. That is not to say that you don’t have to do some additional
research, because you do in order to clarify details you don’t completely
understand, but most of the work is already there.
Q. I was looking on a list of Southern writers and I did not find your name there. Do
you consider yourself a Southern writer, or how do you define yourself?
A. I have spent all of my life in the south, but I am never sure what someone means
when they classify someone as a Southern writer. If they are talking about
William Faulkner or Eudora Welty, then I suppose I’m not. Nicholas Sparks has
been labeled a Southern writer but he doesn’t follow the usual pattern of the
traditional Southern writer.
Q. I read the first chapter of Abraham’s Bones on your website. I thought I had read
something saying that you were a Protestant. Why did you make your main
character a Catholic?
A. I am a Protestant, but my older brother is a Catholic. It was necessary for the
story to have someone connected with a strong religious base. Protestants don’t
have the kind of base to influence international politics. It you read the book you
will find a lot of Protestants, Muslims and Jews as well. This is a book about
conflict and cooperation between governments and the three great religions.
Q. What writing projects will you be working on in the future?
A. Several, actually. I am currently working on a sequel to Abraham’s Bones, as well as a fast action suspense novel. I have this idea for a children’s book that has been running through my head since my daughter was a pre-teen. I also want to write a book or two about the era in which I grew up. Some of the most fascinating stories of all time were set in this period. I think too many books about this era have centered on the details and failed to capture the essence of what it was like.
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