What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write C6S: Tales of the Patrol Force?
The original seeds for this book lay in a subplot I included in my first novel, Engage at Dawn: First Contact, which depicts an alien landing where the aliens are desperate to depart before they are discovered. I pulled the sub-plot when I discovered showing the alien side took too much of the tension out of the main plot, which focused on the human efforts to find the aliens and discover their purpose. I decided to kludge those sections together into a novelette which I initially released as a teaser to Engage at Dawn. Subsequently, I decided the aliens furnished a source of stories worthy of expounding upon, so I pulled the novelette, deepened and broadened it to a novella, and wrote three more related stories to go with it.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of C6S: Tales of the Patrol Force, what would they be?
My tastes in music are so eccentric that I’m afraid I’d turn off more readers than I would amuse – pass.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I like a solid, believable, and exciting story, so I hover between Military Thrillers and Science Fiction. As you might expect, I write in those genres.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
I’m working through Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt novels looking for some inspiration for my next series.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
In the first part of the book, where the lead character kneels with the aliens during a funeral ceremony in a spur-of-the-moment gesture of respect that ends up altering the course of two worlds.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I have classical music on in the background. I don’t listen per se, but having that seriously improves my intellectual focus.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
“There are no great men. There are only great challenges that ordinary men like you and I are forced by circumstances to meet.” This was attributed to Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
Great successes often depend not on “great leaders,” but on the integrity, skill, and goodwill of someone on the line of action.
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