By Mark W. Danielson
I just returned from another twelve-day trip throughout Asia. As an airline pilot, I have circled the globe in as little as seven days, but this trip kept me in the Ring of Fire, with stops in Anchorage, Beijing, Shanghai, Narita, Manila, and Taipei. Traveling as I do provides many opportunities for developing characters and stories. I look forward to Diablo’s Shadow being released on September 1st. I’m currently working on a murder mystery called Writers Block. I also stay busy writing non-fiction articles for Flight Training magazine, something I’ve done for years.
Diablo’s Shadow is the most difficult story I’ve written because of its subject matter. Every parent’s worst nightmare is learning that their child was abducted. Fear of the unknown can generate tremendous emotion, and we can become our own worst enemy. Sadly, only a handful of the thousands of children reported missing each year ever receive any media coverage. This story explores the lies and accusations between the parents, and the pressure on the authorities to find the child. Anyone with children or grandchildren can relate to Diablo’s Shadow.
All of my novels are reality based. Each was written for a unique purpose. All are different. Danger Within was spurred by an in-flight fire at FedEx, the result of poorly-packed undeclared hazardous cargo. The Innocent Never Knew would never have been written had President Clinton’s Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, not died in a mysterious plane crash. Writer’s Block is a classic murder mystery that travels a different road. It may lead to a detective series, but that’s too far in the future to predict.
I write whenever a story inside of me needs to surface. For me, the fun is letting the characters develop the stories. Since writing comes from the subconscious, there are times when my characters surprise even me.
Whether you’re interested in my books, magazine articles, or simply want to see some of my travels, you can check them all out on my web site. http://markwdanielson.com/
8 comments:
Your books are not only feasible, Mark, you may be psychic. :-)
Jean
A fellow Rocky Mt. MWA member
Love your post, Mark, and the book cover for DIABLO'S SHADOW is stunning.
Seeing the photo of you and Lucy warmed my heart; she's adorable. If I had known about your picture, I'd have added a picture of my papillon, Luca (aka, His Lordship of Eternal Cuteness). He takes a much better photo than I do.
Beth
Beth
Lucy has been my inspiration for so many years, I couldn't leave her out. At fifteen years of age, her days are numbered, but she gives it her all every day. I included her photo in Diablo's Shadow to remind me that every day is a gift for both of us. It seems odd that "animals" would be the ones to provide so much wisdom. Mark
We have a 15-year-old Tibetan Spaniel, Karma. If you look in the dictionary under "sweet," you should find her picture. She's almost blind now, but gets along quite well, thank goodness. We hope to have at least a few more years with her. She's more of homebody, though, not the social butterfly Luca is. When I got him, I wanted him to be the dog I could take everywhere. I even wrote him into my second book so I could take him to book signings. I'm putting Karma into the next one, but I don't think she'd enjoy the signings.
We lost our beautiful cocker spaniel last year to cancer and missed her so much that we adopted two puppies from the pound, an Australian Sheppard and Black Lab mix. Life just wouldn't be complete without them.
Jean
Dean Koontz recently lost his beloved Golden, Trixie. Dean has, and continues to support dogs through Trixie's book sales, and we are fortunate to still hear her wisdom from "the other side." My former Golden has a cameo in Diablo's Shadow. Like relatives, our departed continue to touch our hearts through the memories we were fortunate to gain while they were among us.
I agree, Mark. In fact, one of my favorite quotations is:
"Heaven is the place where all the dogs you've ever loved come to greet you."
Jean
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