On writing a novel...

For some reason, I feel compelled to talk about why I'm writing a novel. This isnt my 'job' so to speak, I mean I still have a day job. I get up and go to work every day and do what I've been doing for thirty-seven years. But I'll be honest with you. I'm getting tired of that. Oh, I still like what I do and find satisfaction in doing it. I'm good at it and I'm considered an expert in my field. I work for a great company and I'm paid very well. Even if I never sold another book (heaven forbid...)  I could still retire comfortably.
But that's not the way I want my life to go. Something I've come to realize in the past few years is when we retire from a livelihood, something that we've been busy with for many years, we still need something to stay busy with. We simply cannot retire and go into a constant state of idleness. You know, like sleeping late everyday, watching TV and mowing the grass on your new riding lawn mower. You have to engage your mind, your body and your passion with something. The general idea is that it will be something that you really like and enjoy doing. Some people just keep on working at what they have been doing all their lives. In other words, they don't stop working. Well, if that floats your boat, have at it. Personally, I don't want to do that. I like what I do but it doesn't inspire me. Writing does. Being able to craft a story, a very interesting, exciting, thrilling story is inspiring. It's a lifetime culmination of experiences. There are some very gifted and brilliant young people out there doing some unbelievably fantastic things. But if you'll take notice, the authors that are writing great stories are older boys and girls. The been-around-the-block types. Why? Because a prerequisite for writing a great story is life experience. You have to understand people and human nature. You have to understand hardship, problems, violence and the things that really matter in life. Writers are people who pay really close attention to what's going on in life. What's happening to the people around them. And they have a limitless imagination.
Another really important thing about writers is they inspire one another. You will not find a good writer who is not well read. Writers love to read as much as they love to write. We read voraciously and endlessly. As soon as we finish one we pick up another. Writers are inspired by other great writers. When writers read a book we can almost sense what was going on in the authors' head when he wrote it, what he was thinking. We love classics too. Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, Fitzgerald, Salinger, Hemingway... Guys who really, really got what writing was all about.
Most of all we want to entertain. We want to excite and thrill you. Make you laugh, make you cry. Make you feel as though what is happening to the characters in the story is happening to you. It's an exciting movie that you see in your mind instead of your eyes.
So, why am I writing a novel? Because it inspires me. I feel like I'm out on the edge of life, taking risks that I usually dont take. Experiencing dangers that I would avoid at all costs. Meeting people, both good and bad that I would never otherwise meet. Writing is living robustly. To the limits...

I hope you enjoy the stories. My second novel is due out this summer.