For several weeks, my friend and co-host of Tikiman and the Viking Podcast, Brian Johnson, has referenced an old W.I.P. of mine from back when we were in a critique group together. It was a NaNoWriMo effort from several years ago titled “The Stooges.” Now, it’s not about THOSE Stooges but fashioned after them in a small way. It is an episodic crime fiction in which three bumbling losers get the brilliant idea to go in on a caper together…and, well, things fall apart.

I began to notice the man character in my Wichita Chronicles series sometimes takes issue with the wealthy people who hire him. After WWII, lucky enough to get an apartment in a city which saw an influx during the war, he should be happy with whatever cases he gets and for the income he receives. But Harold Bergman is different than the typical detectives found in most of the hardboiled tropes.

The best thing a writer can do is to venture beyond their comfort level. Whether it is genre or medium, you can’t sharpen a dull knife. It’s important to maintain your edge. I have written plays, screenplays, short stories, novels, and poems. However, shorter fiction was new to me, what is called Flash Fiction. When I had the chance to spread my wings, so to speak, I took advantage.

A quote widely (but perhaps erroneously) attributed to Albert Einstein: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting different results. The truth is most of us do change, modify, adapt, whether it is intentional and measured or simply happens out of necessity. As we age, our bodies can no longer do the things we used to do, in spite of medications, exercises, and all methods of denying natural laws.

I have attended the OWFI writers conference for several years, was former president of KWA, and was a speaker at the Kansas Authors Club conference. I am co-host of Tikiman and the Viking Podcast. This is not intended to be a resume or a job interview. The point is that I am not Thomas Chatterton sitting in an attic garret and working painfully alone.

I recently had the opportunity to go to VAN GOGH: THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE. I do enjoy museums greatly and am not typically into high-tech exhibitions such as this. However, given the nature of the artist himself, I quickly understood what it was like to be him and to gather more understanding of his nature both as a person and an artist.

I signed my first contract with The Wild Rose Press in 2016 and my first book with them was “Ark City Confidential” which was released in January 2017. My first editor with them was Cindy Davis. I had two prior books released through another small press which is now defunct and those books are out of print. I worked with an editor then as well; she was pleasant and efficient but nothing like Cindy.

Such an amazing opportunity to have my main character interviewed.

Harold has two leads: an English gentleman the bank vice-president encountered and a unique phrase: ‘vulgar tin mouse.’ The late afternoon and a weariness approached about the same time. My resolve still held strong but the mental energy I expended thus far drove me to feel tired beyond measure. My final visit of the day to the library rejuvenated me, especially when Karla seemed giddy with excitement.

I have jokingly commented in the past that book trailers and character videos are the primary way I am using the degree in filmmaking I earned at the University of Miami. Given the fact that we used WWII Arriflex cameras and large editing boards, I might be overstepping my credentials. However, what I am using are the tools available to me now as well as the concepts of a good film to present information in a creative and visual fashion.

While working as an investigator for an insurance agency, Harold is approached to help a friend of his boss, the vice-president of a bank, who has somehow lost a day and a half of his life. “This past Friday, the thirteenth, I vaguely recall leaving work.” “I don’t understand, Mr. Johnson.” “I spoke with my secretary, Mrs. Juliet Gallison, around three in the afternoon.

When I was younger, in college, in my so-called salad days, or even in the beginnings of my creative re-emergence in Boston in the early 90’s, I could never have imagined writing novels in a series. I dabbled in contemporary crime fiction until discussions with my wife’s late uncle made me realize the rich history of small-town America in terms of criminal activity.