How do you write a book?
I guess I've been asked that question a hundred times, and every time I hear it, I say the same thing, "Just start writing! Write! The first five or ten or twenty pages will be junk. That's okay. Throw them away. But keep writing and you'll eventually write yourself into a story. When the story takes over and begins to write itself, you'll know it's good."
In my case it was supposed to be Bonita Republic, an ensemble romance about people living on boats in a small, broken-down marina in a town called Calkins Harbor on Bonita Key in southwest Florida. My goal was to teach my as-yet-unborn grandchildren the lessons I had learned in my life: lessons like, "We are who we are in spite of the accidents of birth, not because of them," and "If you're on the right path in life, the doors will open ahead of you." They're great lessons. I intended to weave them into a story, and as I did so the story took over and wrote itself. The book became Harbor of Refuge, my very first novel. |
And the beat went on . . .Like every budding author, I couldn't wait to get published, and I was lucky enough to find an agent. Dick Smith was a great guy who told me that romances didn't sell. He said I should write something about my work -- I was an Assistant Attorney General representing the State in criminal appeals at the time -- and he gave me a challenge: "Write it in the first person." The result was A Quiet Family Murder, and here's some advice from "the Author" -- me: don't buy it if you're expecting Bonita Republic!
Although A Quiet Family Murder takes place in the same town and some of the characters overlap, there's nothing "romantic" about it. Instead it's a gritty tale of the inside story of a murder investigation and criminal trial, the strategic decisions involved, the toll the stress takes on the lawyers -- and political intrigue that becomes a part of what should have been a pretty simple case. Then someone told me that it was easier for a first timer to get published in non-fiction. With all of my experience in yacht clubs, it seemed easy enough to write Yachting Customs and Courtesies, a book that is now in its Fourth Edition, and has expanded into 1,045 pages in two volumes. |
While all that was happening, I found my birth family, and I wanted to tell people what it felt like to grow up adopted and meet two sisters and brother when you're 56 years old. It became another book, I Was That Baby but that, as they say is another story! Then, just for a lark, I wrote two musical comedies in which I created new lyrics for old Broadway show tunes. I put together a cast and Give My Regards to North Palm Beach and Do You Believe in Magic? were both produced by North Palm Beach Yacht Club for several fun-filled nights. Oh, and . . . speaking of "another story," you're probably wondering what became of Bonita Republic. As one of my good friends used to say, "We're still workin' on it!"
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