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.   

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.  

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.

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.   

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.