I have written five novels. The first was "Mobley's Law, A Mobley Meadows Novel." As a retired lawyer, I decided to write about the law in the old west. Westerns were then my favorite genre. However, while this remains my best selling book, westerns as genre have not done well modernly. So, after I completed the sequel to Mobley's Law, I wrote "Curses," which follows directly upon the story of Mobley Meadows. After that, I wrote "The Accidental Cop," which was a compilation of my many experiences as a police officer back in the 1960s. Then came Charming Billy. I am a pilot and an amateur historian, in particular of World War II, and decided to combine a story of the Battle of Britain with the hero's (Billy Brand) love affair with the Countess of Sinclair-Lewis. It is a story of aerial combat, social conspiracy, and the lives of the aristocracy. My latest book is "The Scent of a Red Candle." It is a science fiction novel where the hero is again Ben Colder, a detective in San Diego who must track down a serial killer being controlled by a cloud of giant neurons. They have evolved over a period of a billion years on earth and are now facing the destruction of their habitat by man's disregard for the environment. It is a plausible story based on our own relationships with the microbes that protect us and guide our own lives.

I've always wanted to write, and perfected my skills as a legal writer. In 1980, I was honored by the Chief Justice of the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego as the best appellate writer in the state. That inspired me to continue writing after I retired. Once started, I discovered a great secret. Writing fiction releases endorphin's which, like some drugs, make you feel very good. Writing legal briefs and appeals require absolute perfection and tends to impart stress hormones on the human body that make you sick. I prefer to feel good.

Coming up with a plausible story and putting it on paper. In the end, I want to jump up and down.

My fans have, over time, given me great encouragement. I especially like it when some young person asks not only for an autograph, but tells me how much I have inspired him. There few other feelings are quite as nice as that.

That is a good question. I've just finished "The Scent of a Red Candle," and discovered that I have a talent for writing science fiction. I suppose I should, since I have been studying science my entire life.

In order for a science fiction story to be worthwhile, it must be based on a plausible (even if unlikely) science situation. Science fantasy is not for me.

Arthur Clark, Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, and Dale Brown. Why? Because they write in all of the genre's I like: Science fiction, military fiction, medical mysteries, and military aviation. I also like to compare writing today as it has been in the past. A good exercise for any writer is to read, "The Last of the Mohicans." Observe the writing style there and note the evolutionary changes that have taken place over time. That is still going on today. Words are different, descriptive passages are incredibly different, and punctuation is different. Fundamentally, the underlying stories are the same. Think of the "W plot diagram," which will show a hero on top in the beginning, starting downhill thereafter, pulling himself out of a hole and then falling off of the world. Finally, he figures out how to solve whatever problem he is facing, and rides into the sunset. It is the primary way an action adventure is structured.

I'd like to say it was to roar upstairs to my computer and get on with a new story, but the fact is that I have to have my coffee first. I must take care of the yard, do whatever chores my wife has set out for me that day, and THEN sit down and ponder a new story.

Walking, thinking of my next meal, and reading. Lately, I've been closely watching the political race for president. I never thought I would ever see such a disastrous mess.

I scan genre, looking for new books and checking new authors to see what they've got.

Yes, it was a term paper about the Battleship, "Bismarck," during WWII. Since then, I've tried writing short stories, but did not seem to have what it took to combine a good story in so short a format as is generally required. I do not think "short" defines good.

I do not out line. I ponder new ideas, let them stew for a while in my brain, and then start. It is important to have a proper format on your computer at all times. Trying to re-set it every time is a pain. Then, I think of the W plot and follow it.

The first real book I ever read, besides hundreds of comic books, was "Ba Ba Blacksheep," about the life of Pappy Boyington. He was a great pilot during the war, shot down a record number of enemy planes, and was ultimately shot down and captured by the Japanese. His life as a prisoner of war was not unlike that of the Olympic competitor who starred in "Unbroken." It was just awful. He was tortured everyday, beaten with a baseball bat, and finally had the pleasure of having his enemies bow to him as if he were a God when it was all over. Sadly, he had become an alcoholic and did not have a happy life thereafter.

I tell the graphic artist what the book is all about and she comes up with it. Right now, I am using Patti Roberts from Darwin, Australia. Is it not fantastic that we can instantly communicate with folks on the other side of the world?