THE DANCE WE SHARED Blog Tour

At what point did you decide to be an author and what was your path to publication?

I grew up in the small town of Potosi, on the Mississippi in southwest Wisconsin. I was blessed with some great teachers in junior high and high school, who introduced me to literature, taught me how to write and also opened my eyes to the wider world beyond our little town. I did some writing in high school and college, won some short-story awards and then real life intervened, as it tends to do, so I put the pen (actually, the keyboard) aside for several years. About 15 years ago, my wife, who had read some of my early work, was reading a paperback in bed. She tossed it aside and said, “You can write better than this junk!” And so, I decided to see if I could. The result was The White Vixen.

What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a book? Do you chase the squirrel (aka “UP syndrome”) or do you finish your current project first?

I’ll jot down some notes and maybe go so far as to compose a rough synopsis of the book. Typically, I’m working on three things at once: promoting the previous book, working on the current one, and thinking about the next one. But once I’ve started writing, I stick to a self-imposed schedule.

Who is your favorite character to write, and why is that person your favorite? If picking a favorite character would be like picking a favorite child, which character seems to be the most demanding or your attention and detail as a writer?

My favorite character to write was Scott Armstrong, the hero in The Man in the Arena. Like me, Scott grew up in a small Mississippi River town in southwest Wisconsin (Ferryville, in Crawford County, the county above mine). Like me, he was a jock in high school. Unlike me, he attended the Air Force Academy, where he played football and earned his degree. He went on to a career in Intelligence, then Special Tactics, before a forced early retirement drew him back to the river, because he had nowhere else to go. When he settles in, he discovers that things aren’t quite as placid along the river as he remembered.

The most demanding character is Jo Ann Geary, the White Vixen, who has starred in four novels in the series. (The fifth is in the very early planning stage.) Demanding, if only because she’s a woman, and I’m not. Fortunately, I’m married to a woman, so I can run things past Sue. She’ll tell me if I have Jo’s thinking or actions right or whether I’m way off base. Writing Jo also entails a lot of research, because her adventures are set in the 1980s and early ‘90s, so I have to be aware of the historical context, and she travels all over the world. Fortunately, I’ve done that, too—it helps to marry a woman who owns a travel agency—and so I often use places we’ve visited, like Argentina and East Africa, as places where Jo is sent on her missions.

Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot and plan, or is your writing more organic?

I have a pretty good idea of the story by the time I sit down to begin writing it. I have the major characters fleshed out, complete with biographies, and a rough outline of the plot. There have been one or two occasions when I’ve not been exactly sure of the ending, so I just sit down and let the words flow, seeing where they lead. I’ve known writers who have been completely organic, just starting with a general concept and seeing where it takes them, and others who do detailed outlines first, which allows them to just go back and fill in the blanks. I’m sort of in the middle.

What are some books or authors that you would recommend to our readers?

For action/adventure, there are a lot of good writers out there: Brad Thor, Kyle Mills, Mark Greaney, Jack Carr, just to name four. I’ve met all of them at various events and they’re always great to talk to. Another fine writer, who does mysteries, is William Kent Krueger. He’s from Minnesota and his main series is set up near the Boundary Waters in the northern part of the state.

Tell us what you enjoy most about writing romantic suspense.

The Dance We Shared is my first venture into this genre, and it’s been a challenge. But I like challenges, so it was fun to try something a little bit different than what I’d been writing.

What have you found to be most challenging about writing in romantic suspense?

For this book, the biggest challenge was putting myself in the head of my main protagonist. Ben Fletcher is a guy who is still mourning the loss of Ronnie, the woman who was the love of his life. Twenty years earlier, his stupid mistake caused her to break up with him, and shortly after that she met another man and married him. He’s never found love again and while his life is pretty decent, by most standards—steady job in work he enjoys, a good income, living in the beautiful city of La Crosse, Wisconsin—he’s not happy.

I’ve been with Sue for 34 years now, and for this story I had to revisit a brief time, early in our relationship, when it didn’t look like we’d make it. Not because of something I did, but because another man made a play for her. She says now it was never serious and she never considered our own relationship to be on shaky ground, but that’s how it appeared to me at the time. It was very tough, emotionally, and I had to channel some of that to write Ben and accurately reflect what he’d been going through.

In my case, Sue and I reunited after a short breakup when she invited me back into her life. In Ben’s case, he has to wait twenty years to get his chance.

Have you been able to incorporate your previous experience in your profession in your writing?

Ben is a radio announcer at the time he meets Ronnie, and his job when the story begins also involves the media. I was a full-time radio announcer for twenty years, so I could write that part pretty accurately. I’m also a martial artist, with about 25 years of training, so I made Ben one, as well. In his case, Ben started training as a way to deal with his anger at himself over the breakup with Ronnie, to channel it into something constructive and gain some peace of mind. In my case, I started because our son was in taekwondo and I thought it would be the old man’s last chance to learn this. It was very hard, but after four years of training, I earned my chodan (first-degree) black belt in the art. A few years later, Sue joined me in training, and we both have black belts now. So, it should be no surprise that many of my major characters are martial artists.

Describe the book in 10 words or less for people who are just learning about it.

Ben has one last chance to regain his lost love.

 Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?

It’s never too late to rectify past mistakes, and lost love may not be truly lost.

What has been the toughest criticism you have received as an author? What has been the best compliment? 

One time I got an online review from someone who had apparently taken exception to something I’d posted online about a political topic. It had nothing to do with my books, but I felt like I’d been ganged up on by people who simply didn’t like what I’d had to say. Rather than debate the issue in a public forum, they chose the coward’s way out. So, it wasn’t actually criticism of my work, but the people at that site refused to remove the bad review, even when I explained the situation.

The best compliments are from people who read the books and say they really enjoyed them, and ask when the next one’s coming out?

Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?

For aspiring authors, read and read and read some more, then write and write and write some more. The best advice I ever read about writing was from Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire: “Get your ass in the chair.” And don’t expect to get rich. You’re writing because you love to write and tell stories. If you make money at it, that’s a bonus.

I wouldn’t give my younger self any advice. People have to be allowed to figure things out themselves, to a great extent. I might give my kids advice now and then, but that’s different. Right from the beginning of this adventure, I knew it would be challenging, but I like challenges. I’m not good at living on cruise control.

My favorite line from The Dance We Shared comes when Ben finds a letter from Ronnie, which contains a card with a phone number, and three words in her handwriting: “Please help me.” Then Ben turns over the envelope and sees the postmark:

It was five years ago, right after the date on the postmark, that Veronica Starr, the love of my life, vanished.

To date, what is your favorite (or most difficult) chapter you have ever written?

In Quest for Redemption, the third novel in my Quest series, one of the protagonists is faced with a situation where he has to make a decision about being faithful to his wife. I wanted him to turn down that opportunity, because he’s an honorable man and honorable men don’t do such things, but the story required him to do it. That was tough.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing? 

Sue and I have traveled all over the world, 3-4 trips a year, and now that we’re semi-retired (and building a new home in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin) we’re down to two. But visiting other countries and doing adventurous things can’t be topped. We’ve taken on Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, explored Machu Picchu in Peru, bicycled through Andalusia in Spain and have upcoming trips to Southeast Asia and Antarctica. But I also enjoy going on early-morning walks with Sue and our dog, a mile down the road and back from our rental cabin in Crawford County, Wisconsin. If there’s one car on the road at that time of day, it’s unusual, and we love watching Maisie chase the rabbits. Sometimes it’s the little things in life that are the best.