I started writing Stalked by the Devil in the summer of
2013. I liked the characters the moment I started writing. The first ten
chapters (draft) were enjoyable, easy, and the characters were alive. I was slam
dunked by the news I would need a major operation for a non-malignant cancer.
The novel went on the shelf as I concentrated on the operation. After reviewing my choices, I decided to go
to MD Anderson in Houston, Texas to have the operation. This would be the sixteenth
time under the knife, and I wasn’t too thrilled with the idea. The operation
was successful, but only when physical therapy started did I realize that the
major surgery was far more major and complicated than I first envisioned. The
doctor told me that “old guys” like me take anywhere from one and one-half to
two years to fully recover. I’m doing well, but still in the recovery stage. After
the surgery, I married a wonderful woman and the vigors of starting a new life
with someone and recovering from the surgery curtailed returning to Stalked by
the Devil.
A month ago, I picked up the rough draft and read it again.
I liked it, but my confidence was shaken. For some reason I didn’t know if the
flow of the book was just right. I asked two of my friends, who are very
critical, to read the manuscript. The next three weeks were hell as I continued
to write and wait for their critique. They liked the rough draft and felt the
flow was okay: just wanted to know when I’d finish it.
I’m now half-way with through the first draft and write a
chapter a week.
I’ve returned to memories of my childhood for this book. The southern Missouri counties of Polk and
Hickory provide the backdrop for the story that takes place in the mid-thirties
during the depression, but it is a tale susupense that is old as time and
present today.
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