Series Spotlight

Missing

by Mike Paull

Missing is written in the time-honored tradition of a good-old spy thriller. It’s a “who-done-it” intensified by the intrigue of a Middle Eastern hide-and-seek, and a frantic search for a stash of gold that may not even exist.

The plot questions whether Saddam hid millions of dollars in gold before his capture, why a suspicious cargo was loaded onto an airliner that was later reported lost over the Indian Ocean; and how that airliner subsequently ended up on a non-existent island in the middle of nowhere. 

In the midst of all these questions, is the issue of whether U.S. Agent Craig “Coop” Cooper will be able to find the sniper who almost took his life.

(Missing is discounted at $2.99 in February.)

More about Hunted Man from Charles McRaven

I really like whodunits, and chose a subject I knew a lot about for this one.

My protagonist's troubles are typical of the construction/restoration business, which I practiced for 40 years. There were good times and then the other kind: inspectors, bankers, architects to deal with, as well as difficult owners and undependable employees.

I knew the average reader would not identify with just this, so made it this whodunnit, with escalating harassment for my main character, which would turn deadly.

And I wanted to make it clear that a man who works with his hands has the same concerns, feelings, battles to fight as any other human being, despite the Bubba stereotype. I hope my readers can empathize.

More about Incidental Justice from Eileen Harris

This book is a little different for me because I wanted to tell a story about someone’s journey to a better place. Someone who wasn’t perfect.

In my mind, I pictured my heroine with a lot to overcome and both the will and desire to do so. She certainly couldn’t be boring or dull, so I gave her courage and humor to face the mysteries and adventures she would encounter.

Then, as always, I sat at the computer and told my characters to get busy doing stuff so I could write it down.

Q&A with J.D. Webb

J. D. (Dave) Webb resides in Illinois with his wife of more than 50 years and their toy poodle, losing all family votes two to one. He served in the Security Service of the Air Force as a Chinese linguist and weather analyst in Vietnam and the Philippines before spending 25 years in corporate management. A company purge promoted him to cobbler and he owned a shoe repair and sales shop for 11 years. During these careers, he wrote short stories and suppressed an urge to write a novel. After making a conscious decision to live at the poverty level, those novels began forcing their way out.

Becoming a full-time author in 2002, Dave has garnered several awards. A short story called The Key to Christmas placed third in the 2006 La Belle Lettre literary contest. His first novel, Shepherd's Pie, won the Golden Wings Award for excellence in writing. His second novel, Moon Over Chicago, was a top ten finisher in the 2008 Preditors and Editors Poll in the mystery category and was a finalist in the prestigious 2008 Eppie awards by the Electronic Publishing Internet Connection.

Two short stories won international awards as finalists in the EPIC ebook competition and one was awarded the Eppie as winner in 2018. He is also the owner and moderator of the Publishing and Promoting Yahoo group with over 1,000 international members. 

What inspired you to write?

 As a punishment for high school mischief, I was thrown into a Creative Writing class. I found my passion. Also, received confirmation of being rewarded for doing mischief.

How do you handle writer’s block?

I don’t believe in writer’s block. All too often we use that as an excuse for not wanting to tackle a daunting chapter or paragraph. I always have a story to dive into.

How do I plot?

I’m a pantser; one who writes by the seat of my pants in the chair. I do not outline but I have a story in mind and let it play out. My first thought about an ending always changes.

Worst writing advice?

I was told in college to write what you know. Poppycock. We have Google, libraries, human sources, or contacts. In science fiction, how would you know what to write?

How do you approach editing?

With much trepidation. It’s hard. I read through my novels at least ten times looking each time with a different purpose. Once to look for spelling errors; to eliminate many that words; then looking for unnecessary adverbs; also finding was, were, and saw, to change to active verbs, etc.