“What’s been your biggest surprise since becoming a published author?”
Answer: the questions readers ask.
Time and space prohibit a full listing, assuming I could remember them all. It is safe to say, however, there are only two or three things about which a question has not been asked. No one has asked what I eat for breakfast, or if I wear boxers or briefs. But it would not be a surprise to hear both.
Some questions are easy. Why Hampton, Virginia, for the setting? The Tidewater area of Virginia (including Hampton), other than references and inaccurate video snippets of the place on the TV show NCIS, is not among the top ten settings for novels. But the choice, other than it’s the place I've lived and come to know over the last forty-six years, is that it represents the “platform,” the market for which I write.
A combination of factors⎯age, health, dislike for large crowds and extensive travel, and laziness⎯led to an early decision that the dark side of writing, book peddling in both the traditional sense and what it has become, would not be a part of my life.
A look at the area around me, within a hundred mile radius of my home, revealed some interesting statistics. The area includes over three million permanent residents, over 35,000 military personnel, and major, destination-type tourist attractions that draw some eleven million visitors a year.
My guess that this area would be as big a piece of the pie as I wanted has proven to be true. It keeps me busy, but also limits the amount of time that book peddling takes away from my first love. Word cobbling.
Next question, next time. Which came first? Plot or character.
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