You’ve done so much, what’s left for you to do?

I’ve got a lot left to do. I’m going to continue writing for as long as I can because I truly do enjoy it. I enjoy the storytelling, and for me it’s a challenge to put together a book—the characters, the plot, and all the subtleties that accompany writing a book. I’ve got to finish the Gems & Jewels series, and I certainly want to add more books with Lt. Wickland from The Versailles Conspiracy, Feltus Boone LaMont from Murder at the Ocean Forest, and the Maynwarings. I have a whole list of books that I want to write. If I just wrote books full time, it would take me years to get through the entire list of storylines that I’ve come up with, and it seems like I’m coming up with more and more every month, so that list just keeps getting longer and longer.

I’m the type of person that likes to get projects done. I don’t like having open projects sitting on my desk, so it’s pretty daunting to look at the list of books I want to write and realize that it’s going to take a while to finish this. Needless to say, I’m committed to this for the long haul, so readers can rest assured that I’m going to keep turning out books as fast as I can. I’ll be lucky to get one or two done each year. I don’t want to sacrifice quality for quantity or just to get the books written. I want to maintain my style and work quality.

There’s a whole list of business projects that I’d like to get off the ground, but like a good book, this doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a lot of planning and strategizing involved. Business always keeps me busy. You just never know what’s going to happen from one day to the next. Time is at a premium, so current operations come first and as time and resources permit we can move onto the new projects.

We’re working on setting up my own foundation to raise money for charitable work. I’m a big supporter of no kill animal shelters. If I could accomplish only one thing in the rest of my life I would love to stop the senseless killing of animals simply because they don’t have a forever home and to stop animal cruelty. Each year hundreds of thousands of animals are put down just because they haven’t been adopted. It really breaks my heart. Cats and dogs are such wonderful creatures and great companions. They have so much unconditional love to offer humans that it is a shame that it goes to waste. I understand that it is a matter of economics. Spending money to care for homeless animals isn’t a big priority here in America. I want to build my foundation so that we can provide support and assistance to shelters throughout America to stop the killing of shelter pets. It is a tall task, and I know that. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in educating pet owners about the importance of having pets spayed or neutered to control the pet population. We need programs throughout the country to capture stray pets and spay or neuter them. I’d love it if the foundation could someday develop a network of animal rescue farms where stray and abandoned animals can live until they’re adopted. This is a cause that I’m very passionate about, so you’ll be seeing me continue to work towards this in the future.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

It’s all over the place. I try to keep regular office hours, but sometimes I’ll be in the middle of something in the manuscript and I’ll want to keep working. The creative juices may be flowing, so I might be in front of the computer off and on all day working on the book. It really drives my secretary crazy, particularly when we’ve got to rearrange meetings or appointments because I’m working on a book.

By the same token, I might be up all night working if I’m in the mood, which really throws off my business schedule the next day. It’s not uncommon for meetings to get postponed until late afternoon or early evening. I may have to conduct business over dinner. All of that is a rarity as I do try to allot myself time outside the office for writing, and I try to stay in those time frames as much as possible. But when the juices are flowing, you’ve got to go with it while you can. I try to get as much on paper as I can when I’m in the right mental frame of mind for writing. I don’t want to let those thought get away.

I do find that a lot of times I do my best writing late at night before I go to bed. I’m definitely not an early morning writer. In the mornings I’ve got to get up and let my mind get moving and really working full steam before I can sit and write. That may take an hour or two or all day, but usually I’m pretty fired up in the afternoons and evenings.

My mind is pretty much running twenty-four hours a day overtime between business and writing. I guess that’s what keeps me going. The mind never rests.   

Do you have any tips for readers?

When it comes to reading my books, readers need to take their time and really focus on the story. My books are complex. I’m not going to shy away from that. They’re written at a higher level than most other writers. I’ve said it before that they’re very descriptive and detail oriented so you’ve got to pay attention. If you don’t have the time, you may want to wait to read my books when you can dedicate a little time here and there. If you start reading the book then put it down for a week, you’ll probably forget some important things when you start reading it again.

In a larger sense, I would encourage readers to try writers that may not necessarily be in the mainstream. There is a lot of unique talent out there that’s getting published by smaller presses or that is being self-published. It’s not all good, but then again neither is all the stuff that the mainstream writers are putting out. I would encourage readers to expand their horizons when it comes to writers. That really helps out writers who are good but don’t have the name recognition or distribution outlets that come from being published by a major publishing house. I think readers need to approach non-mainstream authors with an open mind. If you look at the work that is in the mainstream, it’s all pretty much the same. It’s really uninspiring in most cases. It’s written at a much lower level to appeal to a wide commercial audience. Writers outside the mainstream aren’t necessarily catering to a wide commercial audience, so you’ll find a much different style in many cases.

What country would you live in if not the USA?

Despite all the political and social problems we have here in the United States of America, it’s still the greatest country in the world. We have so much more than any other country that I don’t really know if I could live anywhere else. Everything from television programming to restaurants to entertainment is just better here in America. We have just about every climate that you could possible imagine in the United States, so you can find what suits you. We still have the greatest freedoms known to man, and at night we can go to sleep knowing that we’re safe. We’re not going to wake up in the morning having been invaded by a neighbor or taken over by some other nation.

But if we’re looking at this from a theoretical perspective, I’d have to consider Grand Cayman or Martinique or the British Virgin Islands. The Caribbean is just an amazing part of the world; I love the weather and it’s like being removed from the rest of the world. It’s really a good, stress free lifestyle in the islands. Bermuda is another great place. I guess I’d also consider Switzerland or Great Britain if they weren’t so cold and what I consider miserable weather; I’m just not a fan of the climates there. Switzerland is very modern and sophisticated, and they respect your privacy. I really appreciate that. Australia is a possibility, but it’s just so far away.     

What do you think makes a good story?

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I think the components of a good story are interesting characters and a complex plot. I like the story that keeps me engrossed in what’s going on and that keeps me thinking about the story and the characters. If there are twists and turns, all the better. Lots of details? Great. If there are secrets for the characters, that’s good too; it keeps the mind working trying to figure out what the characters are all about. And I think the good story has a unique storyline as opposed to one that has been used over and over again in other books. It’s ok if it’s a storyline that is not really original but it needs to have a unique spin on it. Let me explain what I mean by that. The classic love triangle has been done so many times that it really takes a special spin to make the story good and unique. Murder mysteries are pretty basic. Someone gets killed. There’s a list of suspects, and one of them did it. How the story presents the characters and events is really what’s important.

Readers will get to see a lot of what I think makes a good story in my own books. They usually have a pretty complicated plot. There’s going to be a lot of twists and turns, and they’ll keep you guessing until the very end. There’s going to be a lot detail. I try to paint the picture of each scene for the readers, and I do that by going into some great detail. There’s going to be a lot of character development. Strong characters with real depth make all the difference; it makes the readers feel like the characters are real people, like they can connect with them on some level. I draw sharp contrasts between my books and my writing style and my storytelling and that of other authors who don’t really go into much detail and who have pretty boring and static characters and who tell very simplistic stories.

My books aren’t for the faint at heart. You’ve got to focus and really pay attention. Some people say my books are hard to read, and I suppose there may be some truth to that when you go from reading books written at a fifth grade reading level to one that is much more advanced or at a college level. It’s not like reading Shakespeare or the classics when you read one of my books, but it is quite different from reading some of the mainstream writers of today.  

Do you buy a book by the cover?

Absolutely. There’s an old saying about first impressions being the most important. You know, you’ve got to make a good first impression because you don’t get a second chance. That is so very true when it comes to the cover of the book. Humans are very visual beings. Let’s say you’re in the bookstore walking passed shelves full of books. The first thing you see is the cover and the design. You don’t really notice the title or the author’s name first. You see the cover design. I go for the book that I think has a unique cover or the cover really stands out. You could take the same manuscript and put them side-by-side on a shelf but have one cover that is just black and white and the other that has a nice, flashy, eye-catching design and nine out of ten people are immediately going to go to the one with the nicely designed cover.

As an author it’s real important to have a well-designed and appealing cover. Not ever cover has to be flashy but it has to be able to grab the readers’ attention. Otherwise, they’re just going to pass right over it in favor of one that catches their eye. As an author, you’ve got one shot to make that first impression. You’ve got to have a really good cover designer, and I do believe that I have one. They’ve got to be able to incorporate some elements of the book and make it visually appealing. For Conversations on the Bench, I originally wanted the cover to just have the black and white picture of a long bench as the focal point. Well, with the test audience, that cover didn’t go over well at all, so I let the graphic designer have carte blanche with it. He came up with the cover that is on the book, and it was much more favorably received by the test audience. So, I learned a very valuable lesson about the importance of the cover design, and my vision isn’t necessarily what connects with the readers.

Do you buy a book by the cover?

Absolutely. There’s an old saying about first impressions being the most important. You know, you’ve got to make a good first impression because you don’t get a second chance. That is so very true when it comes to the cover of the book. Humans are very visual beings. Let’s say you’re in the bookstore walking passed shelves full of books. The first thing you see is the cover and the design. You don’t really notice the title or the author’s name first. You see the cover design. I go for the book that I think has a unique cover or the cover really stands out. You could take the same manuscript and put them side-by-side on a shelf but have one cover that is just black and white and the other that has a nice, flashy, eye-catching design and nine out of ten people are immediately going to go to the one with the nicely designed cover.

As an author it’s real important to have a well-designed and appealing cover. Not ever cover has to be flashy but it has to be able to grab the readers’ attention. Otherwise, they’re just going to pass right over it in favor of one that catches their eye. As an author, you’ve got one shot to make that first impression. You’ve got to have a really good cover designer, and I do believe that I have one. They’ve got to be able to incorporate some elements of the book and make it visually appealing. For Conversations on the Bench, I originally wanted the cover to just have the black and white picture of a long bench as the focal point. Well, with the test audience, that cover didn’t go over well at all, so I let the graphic designer have carte blanche with it. He came up with the cover that is on the book, and it was much more favorably received by the test audience. So, I learned a very valuable lesson about the importance of the cover design, and my vision isn’t necessarily what connects with the readers.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

I don’t really have a set time or place when I do my writing, unlike most authors that I know or that I’ve talked to. When I feel in the mood or when I have something on my mind, I’ll write. It could be three in the morning and I’ll wake up and have something in my head that I want to get on paper, so I’ll get up and start writing. I might write for an hour or so then have to step away from it. Of course, I don’t write full time. I have my various business interests that require a good deal of my attention, and time is at a premium, so I’ve got to squeeze in some writing outside of business. I like writing late at night, that way there aren’t many interruptions. During the day, it’s real tough to carve out time from business and then find a place where I can’t be bothered for a time. So, the ‘when’ in the question is anytime of the day or night but I do prefer to write late at night into the early morning hours so there’s not many interruptions.

As for where I prefer to do my writing, I like writing in my office or at my desk or the home office. It’s a bit of a double edged sword. I like writing late at night which generally means I’m at home. Well, home isn’t necessarily the best place for getting work done. You always find something at home to sidetrack you and you’ve got too many comforts there. Sometimes, I’ll actually stay late at the office, and I’ve been known to be found asleep on the sofa in my office or in the lounge when my secretary and folks get to work in the morning. I guess they just carry on all around me, but they understand that I can keep some very strange hours.

I also really like writing while I’m riding in the car. I can’t do it if I’m driving but on longer trips when I have a driver, it gives me a chance to sit back and relax and focus. Oddly enough, Murder at the Ocean Forest was started in the back of a limo on a trip from Miami up to Orlando. I got the outline done then started writing the first chapter.

I’ve also been known to write on the train. It’s nice having your own sleeper car and some privacy so you can organize your thoughts and do a little work uninterrupted. Train travel isn’t really in style anymore, but I thoroughly enjoy it and on long hauls it gives you ample time to get some work done with few interruptions or business getting involved.

And I’ve also been known to take short trips to a bed and breakfast or a hotel to relax and do a little writing. Sometimes a change of environment can really help in the writing department. You never know when or where I’m going to show up or when a particular place where I’ve been working is going to show up in a book.

Mystery Novelist Digger Cartwright Participates in Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Annual Symposium

Orlando, FL, Miami, FL & Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 22, 2013— The office of Digger Cartwright, mystery novelist and industrialist, released the transcripts of his responses to the question and answer session from Thinking Outside the Boxe’s 9^th Annual Symposium held in Orlando from December 23-31, 2012. The symposium focused on topics such as recent economic conditions and the outlook for the coming year, geopolitical events, domestic politics, etc.

No, no involvement in Syria. I do think it was a good move to put some troops on the Turkey-Syria border as a deterrent to it spilling over into Turkey. But we just don’t need to get drawn into this matter. There’s no strategic value for us. My main concern is that Assad gets deposed and the country gets hijacked by terrorist organizations or those sympathetic to al-Qaeda. At least we know Assad and what he’s all about. We can’t say that about the rebels. What’s the old saying about all that glitters is not gold?  

How long does it take you to write a book?

It can take me anywhere from six weeks to seven or eight months to write a book. If I just sit all day every day, I could turn out a manuscript in four to six weeks. Unfortunately, the mind doesn’t permit me to sit and write that long. I’ll generally have the creative inspiration in bursts of maybe an hour or two then in need to take a break. I might come back after a break and realize that I’m not in the zone anymore, so I’ll have to put it aside. I have to be in a certain mindset before I can sit down and write. When I’m in the right mind, it just comes naturally. If I’m not in the writing mode, it feels like I’m forcing it, and I don’t think that lends itself to my best work. Thus, why it may take me seven or eight months to write a manuscript. I might not have the inspiration for several days for a week, but when I get it I might have it for weeks on end. And, of course, I get sidetracked with business from time to time and that takes me away from my ability to sit down and write.

Sometimes I’ll write myself in a bind. You know, I’ll be writing and take the story in a direction I hadn’t anticipated then I have to step back and figure out where I go from there. Sometimes I’ll readily know how to adjust the story for the unexpected change, and sometimes I won’t know right away. I might need to think about it and let it play out in my mind before I can sit back down and start up again. Writing is a real fluid situation. Changes come up and that impacts the timetable. Overall, I think the average for me would be in the six month range, and remember I’m writing in addition to overseeing my various enterprises and charitable endeavors.

Mystery Novelist Digger Cartwright Participates in Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Annual Symposium

Orlando, FL, Miami, FL & Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 22, 2013— The office of Digger Cartwright, mystery novelist and industrialist, released the transcripts of his responses to the question and answer session from Thinking Outside the Boxe’s 9^th Annual Symposium held in Orlando from December 23-31, 2012. The symposium focused on topics such as recent economic conditions and the outlook for the coming year, geopolitical events, domestic politics, etc.

Shore it up? Hell, we need to get rid of FEMA. Let’s see, they didn’t do much with Katrina, and now we’re finding out that they haven’t done much with Sandy. It’s real hypocritical that the liberal media crucified President George W. Bush in the aftermath of Katrina, but Obama has gotten a free pass with Sandy. Obama went on national TV and said the government was going to cut the red tape and the bureaucracy to get the recovery underway. In fact, no of that was done. Just ask the people who have been displaced. Ask the thousands of people who didn’t have power for weeks and didn’t have heat when the blizzard hit the same areas. And remember all those long lines for gas? And how about the people getting in fights over food and water and gasoline? FEMA didn’t do a damn thing for those people just like it didn’t do a damn thing for the people of New Orleans after Katrina.

You know, there is a bit of poetic justice here. The same liberal elitists in New York who moaned and groaned and bitched and complained about New Orleans and who looked down their noses at the South whenever there have been hurricanes got a big helping of humble pie with Sandy. They didn’t give a damn about us down here in the South anytime we’ve had a storm. Hell, the liberal media would hardly mention it and then move on. But, oh my God! Poor New York and New Jersey! God help us! What are we going to do? The poor people of New York and New Jersey! We’ve got to help them! It’s sickening to see how they’ve poured so much sympathy out for these people. Didn’t they go through something similar on a smaller scale about a year ago? Didn’t that teach them to get prepared? No, they didn’t do a damn thing to get prepared. So, I’m sorry, but I don’t have much sympathy overall. Oh, and how about the unions in New York turning away the volunteers from the South who were going to try to help restore power? Yeah, if you were cold and in the dark for weeks, thank the unions.

But back to the question at hand regarding FEMA. I think the organization is totally dysfunctional. Take the $6 billion budget that we give to FEMA, create a special trust fund, and let Red Cross take over the responsibilities in the aftermath. If there’s a terrorist attack or something cataclysmic, let the federal government send in the military to help out. Otherwise, the federal government shouldn’t be involved. Let the governor of each state call up the National Guard in the aftermath of something like Sandy and let them handle it. The last thing anyone should want is for federal workers to show up to ‘help.’ That’s just asking for problems. Name one thing that the federal government has done efficiently.  

Do you have any unique talents?

I’m not sure that I have any unique talents, but I enjoy writing and I happen to think I’m pretty good at it. When it comes to writing, I try to really paint the picture of each scene for the reader. I want the readers to be able to immerse themselves in the book and feel like they’re really there, and I want them to really feel like the characters are real people. I think I excel at painting that picture for the reader with some really good descriptions of the people and places. Other writers will tell a story but be weak on character development and we might get a once sentence description of the place. I go over the top with descriptions—characters’ mannerisms, the sights and sounds around them, what they’re wearing, colors, the other people around them. By the time I’m done, there’s not much left to the imagination regarding the characters. You get to know them in most cases and get a feel for what they’re like, what they’re thinking, what they might do, and so on.

Some people like this and some people don’t. If you’re looking for a quick read where you can paint the picture in your own mind the way you want it, my books probably aren’t for you. I’m going to tell you how I as the writer, the storyteller, envision the scene and the people. With my writing, you’ve got to have the time to commit to sitting down and immersing yourself in the book. You have to be willing to stay focused on the task at hand while you’re reading, particularly my mystery novels. A lot of the clues that I give and the keys to figuring out the mystery are very subtle, so you’ve got to pay attention. If anyone that reads any of my books says there wasn’t enough description or they didn’t feel like they connected with characters or places, they either didn’t read the book or weren’t paying attention.

I get a lot of criticism for my lengthy descriptions and attention to detail. Mainstream writers have gotten to the point where they’re writing on about a fifth grade reading level to accommodate the masses. I’ve been encouraged by a lot of folks to lighten up my books when it comes to how I develop the characters and the scenes, but I’m really very proud of my ability to use words to paint the picture for my readers. I don’t take it personally if some people find my work a couple levels above their reading comprehension or their preferred level of leisure reading, but I’m not about to change my approach and my style and basically dumb down my work to sell a couple more books. In business there’s always this great debate between quality vs. quantity. I prefer to sell a quality product, and I think I accomplish that.

Mystery Novelist Digger Cartwright Participates in Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Annual Symposium

Orlando, FL, Miami, FL & Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 22, 2013— The office of Digger Cartwright, mystery novelist and industrialist, released the transcripts of his responses to the question and answer session from Thinking Outside the Boxe’s 9^th Annual Symposium held in Orlando from December 23-31, 2012. The symposium focused on topics such as recent economic conditions and the outlook for the coming year, geopolitical events, domestic politics, etc.

More of the same overregulation and failed economic policies that have driven up our national debt, made us less competitive, killed jobs, raised taxes on American workers and killed business in this country. I think the President has such a big ego and such hubris that his re-election will embolden him in pursuing his radical liberal agenda.

It’s clear that he feels he has this huge mandate in the aftermath of the election, and we’re seeing him try to use that to his advantage with the whole fiscal cliff issue. He’s pursuing this ‘my way or the highway’ strategy that is destructive to the American taxpayers. I have long believed that he has a strong socialist agenda as we’ve witnessed by his massive government takeover of healthcare with the Obamacare legislation. He wants to increase the entitlement state, which he has effectively done. He wants to tax everyone more and spread the wealth. He wants to increase the size and scope of government which he’s done and will continue to do.

Hopefully, after the 2014 mid-term elections, he’ll be a lame duck and he’ll just be relegated to the sidelines. But I wouldn’t put it passed him or his Democratic colleagues in the Congress to try to find a way around the United States Constitution 22^nd Amendment to allow him to serve another term.

Let’s just say that he’s probably got about two years of bold ambition left. I think he’ll go after the energy industry. He’s pretty much killed the coal industry. I figure gas and oil will be next on the list. Everyone brace themselves for $6 per gallon gasoline. And everyone’s utility bills are going to skyrocket in the near future. We’re probably going to see massive taxes as Obamacare if fully implemented. He’s still going to work to find ways to increase everyone’s taxes. I think he’s going to continue to find ways to increase government entitlements, particularly for illegals. And I think he’s going to try to find a way to give amnesty to all the illegals here in the United States and open the doors so that we’ll be flooded with immigrants that will vote for him. And I think the biggest push in the next few months is obviously going to be on gun control or an infringement of our second amendment right to bear arms. In the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre, liberals are foaming at the mouth that this could be the opening they need to ban guns or otherwise impose severe gun control laws.

I will tell you this. My biggest fear is that the Republicans lose the House in the 2014 election. If Obama gets control of the whole Congress, America is pretty well doomed. We’ll never be able to break free from the Democrats’ radical liberal agenda.

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?

The most important thing readers can do to help make any of my books successful is spread the word about it. Post your thoughts about it on Facebook. Tweet about it. Get the word out there. If you’ve got the time, I’d really appreciate honest reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, and wherever else you can put the word out there. Share it with people. Let your friends and family borrow the book and read it and ask them to keep passing it along. Encourage your local book clubs to read it.

There are tens of thousands of books being published as we speak by the mainstream authors, the first time authors, and every Tom, Dick, and Harry out there. Competition is really fierce, and it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle of all these other authors. Readers who like my books can help by promoting my name, my brand, my books, etc. Get the word out there, familiarize other people with my name and my work, and get people interested. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising there is.   

Mystery Novelist Digger Cartwright Participates in Thinking Outside the Boxe’s 9th Annual Symposium

The underlying presumption is that we had a choice in the election process. I think that is the first fallacy. We’re given the illusion of having a choice, but these candidates are hand-picked and they go through a dog and pony show in the run up to the election. I actually think it was already predetermined who was going to win the election, and we go through this sham to keep the voters feeling like their vote matters.

Four years ago we had our choice between Barack Obama, a left wing liberal, and John McCain, an avowed progressive. The voters had the choice between two less than desirable candidates, and the progressive movement won regardless. This election cycle we have the same left wing liberal and another RINO, Republican In Name Only. The progressive movement would have won either way.

I hate to be cynical, but I’ve become very jaded in this political cycle. Mitt Romney wasn’t the ideal candidate for the Republicans, and while it’s notoriously difficult to unseat an incumbent, Obama was like a sitting duck. He had so much baggage from the first term that it’s almost inconceivable we’re sitting here today with him having been re-elected. Either the American people, the voters, are a bunch of brain dead dumb asses or the process was already fixed. Yes, we were given the choice between the lesser of two evils, but Romney couldn’t have done any worse than Obama. So you look to see that we’ve got early voting that is heavily skewed for the Democrats, illegal voting, and rigged voting machines, and it’s easy to see why Obama was re-elected. If you stuff the ballot boxes with enough early votes and rig the machines to vote for you on election day, it doesn’t matter who the other side puts up. You can’t win when you’re playing with a stacked deck of cards.

So, if you presume that we actually have a choice in the election process and if you presume that Romney was an all right candidate, and I subscribe to neither of those philosophies, it comes down to one of three things—either the Romney campaign failed in delivering a clear, convincing, and enthusiastic message or the American voters are so stupid that they would prefer to have us continue down the same path of failed economic policies as the last four years or the majority of American voters have been bought and paid for with government handouts from the Democrats. In any scenario, it doesn’t bode well for the future of our country if we’ve got people just voting for the person who’s going to give them the biggest handout. As a candidate, you can’t give someone cash to vote for you, but you can give them an EBT card to ensure they vote for you. What’s the difference? The system is rigged to the detriment of the American taxpayer.

What can we expect from you in the future?

The future holds a lot of really exciting things. My new book that is coming out in late spring is Conversations on the Bench, which is an inspirational or motivational book. Some people will find it more of one than the other, but this is a book that was inspired by actual events involving a couple of friends of mine. It was really an opportunity for me to step out of the box, step out of my comfort zone in writing and try something different. I’m so used to creating my own characters and places that it was a bit of an adjustment to write about real people and places, but I did it. I’m not sure there’s going to be another book like this, but I’ll keep that option open.

Later in 2013, I’ll be releasing Gems & Jewels Book II: The Restoration. It’s more of a drama with an element of mystery and centers around a wealthy family in the gold, diamond, and precious stones mining as well as the jewelry business. It’s sort of a modern-day Dynasty, Dallas or Falcon Crest. It’s got all the money, power, sex, greed and excess that were characteristic of those shows. It’s going to be a series, so I’m pretty excited about that.

I plan on continuing to write predominantly mystery novels. With Murder at the Ocean Forest, The Versailles Conspiracy, and The Maynwarings: A Game of Chance, I’ve got a lot of characters that I can work with and revisit for sequels or series, particularly with the latter two. I suspect there will be a couple of sequels to those. Then I’ve got a couple of interesting plans on the drawing board. I’ve got a hard-boiled detective story that I’m developing and a couple of political thrillers. I’ve got a futuristic book in the planning stages. It’s one of these what-if prognostications set about twenty years from now.

There are some really exciting storylines in the works. I just wish I had the time to write them all and get them done faster, but I’m just plugging along one manuscript at a time. One thing is for sure, I don’t plan on going away. I love what I’m doing, and I plan on continuing to write for a long time.    

Mystery Novelist Digger Cartwright Participates in Thinking Outside the Boxe’s 9th Annual Symposium

Realistically is anything going to happen when it comes to the debt ceiling debate? No. The Congress will raise the debt ceiling so the President and his friends in the Congress can keep squandering away the taxpayers’ money. I find it the epitome of hubris that the President actually wants the Congress to give him the sole authority over increasing the debt ceiling. That’s a sure recipe for disaster. There wouldn’t be anything stopping him from spending us into bankruptcy. Maybe that’s his goal in the long run. He’s sure doing a fine job of it right now.

But the politicians will take this whole debt ceiling charade right up to the zero hour then agree to increase the limit so that the government doesn’t have to shut down. I don’t understand why everyone in Washington is so afraid to have the government shut down. All we’re talking about is non-essential services shutting down. Social Security checks would still be going out. The military would still be defending us. We’d just be looking at a closure of things like national parks and maybe the folks at the Department of Energy would have to stay at home. Not like they’re doing much good anyway.
Shut down the non-essential stuff. If it is non-essential, they why is the government involved anyway? Use it as an opportunity to downsize the federal government. You know what I’m saying? Sadly, though, that isn’t going to happen.

My prediction is they’ll raise the debt ceiling to $20 trillion, which should be enough to accommodate Obama and the Democrats’ spending until the 2014 mid-term elections. And then, we’ll be debating it all again.

Do you have any advice for other writers trying to get published?

The publishing world is tough to break into for new authors. If you’re going the traditional route, there are a few things you need to be aware of. First, you have to have a good product to promote. If your book is just mediocre, you’re dead in the water. There are too many other people out there writing to pass off a mediocre book. Writing a really good book takes time, patience and dedication. If you’re just throwing your thoughts together and trying to get something done quickly, you’re wasting your time. It takes a lot of hard work and discipline to get a manuscript where you need it to be so that you can successfully market it. Second, you have to find an agent willing to represent you. That’s like finding a needle in a haystack. There are a lot fewer literary agents than there are budding authors, and they’re getting swamped with query letters, proposals, and manuscripts. You’ve got to be both good and lucky to get an agent. Third, you’ve got to get it sold to a publishing house and they’ve got to be able to market it and so on and so forth.

The reality is that very few authors had their first manuscript picked up by an agent or a publishing house. The one that launches their career may be the second or third manuscript. Anyone can sit down and write one book. It may take a while and it may not be good, but just about anyone can do it. Very few people are actually going to sit down and write the second book. They’ll get discouraged that they couldn’t do anything with the first one and give it up. So, you’ve got a much smaller pool of competing authors once you’ve written the second book. Even fewer of those people will go on to write a third book then a fourth book. With each book written, you move higher and higher up the hierarchy of writers. That’s what really separates the wheat from the chaffe—the ability to write multiple books. They have to be good, of course, otherwise it’s just a waste of time.

If you don’t want to go the traditional route, you can try self-publishing your book. Of course, that comes with its own set of challenges that you have to be ready for. You don’t have the marketing power, budget, editorial staff, or distribution that the traditional publishing houses have, so you’re competing with the big names without the benefits they have in terms of name recognition, resources, etc. that comes from being published via traditional means. Thus, you’ve got to work even harder, be more creative, and more dedicated. You’ve got to make sure your manuscript is perfect before it’s available for sale. You’ve got to make sure it’s edited correctly. You’ve got to make sure you’ve got an eye-catching cover. However, I’d point out that more and more people are going the self-publishing route. There are even some big name authors that are going that route themselves. Despite the obvious drawbacks, there are some benefits. When you self-publish, you maintain control of pretty much all aspects of your work. You’re not subrogating any rights or responsibilities to anyone else, and you’ve generally got a higher profit margin.

My advice for people wanting to write a book is that you need to set realistic expectations for yourself. I don’t want to discourage anyone. I just want to be honest with them and want them to be honest with themselves. Very few writers make it. Very few people have the will power and the stamina to go the distance and write the second and third books. But listen, if you have a passion for writing and you’re committed to it, go for it. Work hard, keep disciplined, and be the best you can. If you’ve got to take some writing classes, so be it. Do what you have to do if you’re really committed to it. Writing is a lot like getting a puppy. A lot of people think it’s fun and cool to have a little creature around for the first few months, but the luster wears off when the dog starts tearing up the furniture or going to the bathroom on the floor or when you’ve got to get up early on a Saturday and take the dog out to the bathroom or for a walk, particularly if it’s cold out. You know what I mean? Much like having a pet, writing is a big commitment. Don’t do it if you’re easily discouraged or if you don’t have the time and staying power to stick with it through the rejections and criticism.

And don’t forget the criticism. There will be a lot of criticism along the way. You won’t be able to please everyone, so you’ll have to get some thick skin. Some people are going to like it, and some people are going to hate it. It’s hard taking the criticism when you’ve put your heart and soul into something, but you better get used to it. Even the biggest names have lots of critics. Just pull up their books on Amazon and look at the reviews. They’re not all five star.   

Mystery Novelist Digger Cartwright Participates in Thinking Outside the Boxe’s 9th Annual Symposium

Take the bus off the damn cliff and get it over with. Fact of the matter is the end of the Bush tax cuts will have a bigger effect on people in the lower tax brackets than people in the higher tax brackets. And guess what, those in the lower brackets are probably the ones who voted Obama a second term. So, when their paychecks get smaller next year, they can thank him. Don’t blame the Republicans, just thank the Democrats. This is what they want. They don’t care if we go off the cliff.

If we go off the cliff, it’s not the end of the world. The government’s profligate spending is what is going to destroy us. No one at this event can individually spend more than what they make on an on-going basis. It just doesn’t work that way. Everyone here has a budget that they have to adhere to. We all have spending limits. We can’t just print money. But the politicians in Washington don’t understand that, because they think they can just print more money or tax people more. They’re economic idiots!

There’s a fundamental problem when you constantly budget annual increases, and the only reductions in spending are reductions in the increases in spending. It would be like each of us budgeting for a 10% per year increase in our spending budget when in reality our income is only increasing by 3% or so. After the first year, we find ourselves in debt because we spent more than we made. So, for the second year, our spending budget is based on the prior year’s level but with only a 5% increase. And in reality, in the second year, our income only grows by 3% again. We go in the hole again, then we do the same thing in the third year. This is asinine, but this is the way they do it in Washington! Make any sense?

If we are ever to get meaningful spending cuts, we need to cut the base spending not just the rate of increase in spending. So, if we spend $1 trillion this year, we spend only $900 billion next year. That’s cuts in spending. And actually, that’s what the sequester does, but have you noticed that no one in Washington wants to go along with that plan now? Oh, let’s not cut spending. Hell, that’s just what we need, but sadly the sequester doesn’t go far enough.

But there’s a second part to this equation that we can’t forget—revenues. If the economy were growing at about 5% or 6% annually for a couple of years, we’d be generating a lot more in revenues and the budget deficit wouldn’t be so large. We you have an economy that is producing at its potential, there are a lot of positive benefits—people are working and paying taxes and spending money. All of that leads to a strong economic base and higher revenues brought in from taxes. Just think, if we reduced the headline unemployment rate from 7.9% to 6%, we’d be looking at about 3 million more people employed. That means there’d be 3 million more taxpayers paying payroll taxes, income taxes, sales taxes on goods purchased, etc. And, if we could reduce the real unemployment rate—that counts people who have given up looking for jobs or who are working less than what they want—to 6%, we’d be looking at about 10 million workers back in the workforce. Think that would have an impact on getting the economy going? Obviously, we’re talking big numbers, but I don’t want to overplay what it can do. People working isn’t the cure for all our problems. We have to have spending restraint at the federal and state levels. We’ve got to make meaningful and deep spending cuts across the board. No programme and no department should be spared on the spending cuts. Everything from entitlement programmes to defense to education to foreign aid should be on the chopping block.

Sadly, I’m afraid the Republicans in the House of Representatives are going to cave and give in to the President. So, we’ll get higher taxes and virtually no meaningful spending cuts. We won’t get any tax reform or changes to entitlement. Let’s go off the fiscal cliff now, let the economy go into recession again, then have a meaningful debate during mid-term elections in 2014. By then, maybe the Republicans can have their acts together and actually get something accomplished. Ah, but wait a minute! We’ve got the debt ceiling issue coming back up in early 2013. So, maybe that will be an opportunity to force some massive spending cuts. Or maybe they’ll just raise taxes again.

But I’d like to make one more point if I may, and that’s about the effects of Obamacare in 2013 and beyond. We’re starting to get a picture of what this is going to mean in terms of new taxes, fees, or whatever they want to call it. Make no mistake, each and every single American worker and taxpayer is going to be paying more to the federal government starting next year just to pay for Obamacare. I know there are a lot of people out there who don’t think it is going to affect them, but they’re going to be in for a rude awakening. There’s stuff in that bill that the IRS is finding out about now that no one ever dreamed of. It isn’t going to be pretty, and businesses aren’t going to take this lightly. Businesses aren’t going to hire or expand if they’ve got this massive new expense. And how are we ever going to get the economy going again if businesses don’t hire workers or start laying off workers again or reducing them all to part time? Not everyone can work for the government. 

I recently interviewed myself.  Here is the fifth question I asked.

5. Are any of your novels going to be a series and are any of your characters going to make

additional appearances?

Well, each book so far has been self-contained. There’s nothing that carries over into future

books. The Versailles Conspiracy does leave the door open to a sequel, and in fact, I have that

on the drawing board. I think it’s still a couple years out based on my current schedule. There’s

something very endearing about Feltus Boone La Mont from Murder at the Ocean Forest. I’d

like to bring him back for additional books, but there’s nothing in the works right now. There’s

no possibility for a sequel to The House of Dark Shadows. There will be additional books in The

Maynwarings series down the road. I really like the characters in that and I think there are a

number of possibilities for additional books. Right now, however, I’m working on a series called

Gems & Jewels. I’ve planned out four or five books in the series. My plan is to work on one of

those each year until they’re done then come back to potential sequels or series of other books.

Look for the first installment of Gems & Jewels sometime in early to mid-2013. Right now, I just

have so many ideas and outlines that I’ll be busy writing for a long time.

You’ll see all of the Maynwarings in future books set in Carson City back in the Old West.

Lieutenant Wickland will definitely be making additional appearances. He’s going to have a new

partner in the future books, so that should make it interesting. I never really planned on doing

anything further with Murder at the Ocean Forest, but everyone really likes Feltus, the house

detective in that one, so I’m pretty inclined to bring him back. I’ve got some ideas for that, but

there’s nothing planned for the immediate or foreseeable future. While I’d like to bring him

back, there are other more worthy projects in the works. Honestly, I suspect it may be three or

four years before I get around to bringing him back in anything.


~Digger