Writing has always been for me a welcome respite from the sometimes drudgery of everyday living. While I can’t say my former profession was boring, many stories have come out of it and will continue to do so, I find it a way of letting go of the brutality that I’ve encountered over the years as a Parole Agent for the State of California. They are covered in my novel Pelican Bay and in my short stories, Tattooed Love Dogs.
I’ve always studied literature and I attended University of California, Berkeley, and have a master’s degree in English. I started out as a teacher for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Some of my students have been some of the worst criminals the last century produced, including Charlie Manson and Sirhan Sirhan.
I also have always been fascinated by the mid-20th century detective/mystery novels of Raymond Chandler, John D. MacDonald, Ross Macdonald, Donald Westlake and Dashiell Hammett. I’ve just finished most of the books written by Elmore Leonard, another influence.
I have a lot of characters who bite the bullet and aren’t squeamish about taking a life. While it may seem unrealistic in the mundane world, it was not in the world I lived in for many years. At times I find it difficult to write about these things because it seems so close yet at the same time far away and surreal. I plod on in search of character and plot that blend seamlessly to tell stories of plain truth that come with the destructive and dangerous behavior of my characters.
