As a young man, I often thought big and wondered what my contribution to mankind would be. I loved chemistry, and considered biochemistry as a vocation. Could I become a scientist who develops some life-saving vaccine? But, an early marriage and a rapidly growing family abruptly altered my education and career path. That situation pushed me into the family printing business. And there I learned that I had ability to write, as I drafted the text for my clients’ flyers. It was an outlet for the creative thinking that was incubating in my mind as far back as I could remember.
The limited opportunities for creativity in the printing industry caused me to migrate into the advertising profession. In that field, I wrote countless brochures and thousands of ads. I often joked that my ad writing experience set the stage for my ability to write fiction. In addition to ads, I wrote press releases and feature stories for newspapers and magazines.
My advertising concepts drove millions of people to buy my clients’ products and services. I enjoyed a very successful marketing career, but did I want my legacy to be that of a Madison Avenue dog food hustler?
I always yearned to write fiction. Through the advertising process, I learned that selling products only works when you emotionally connect with your target audience. And I was convinced that I could just as easily achieve that with novels.
I began to write fiction with the idea that my writing would trigger laughter, anger, and lots of other emotions to large groups of readers. Hopefully, that is happening with the various books I have published.
I write primarily to entertain. I have always enjoyed making people laugh with a funny joke. I also get a certain satisfaction from sharing an interesting experience or story. Writing allows me to propagate that entertainment and distribute it to a far wider audience. Perhaps the most important result of my writing occurs when I make a connection with someone. It could be a humor story that goes beyond smiles and giggles, making them laugh aloud. Or it happens when I reach into a reader’s mind and truly arouse their emotions.
Writing a novel often takes months to years to arrive at the final draft of a manuscript. Rewriting and editing multiple times can be an extremely tedious regimen. That dedication provides a strong personal satisfaction from the successful completion of such a monumental effort.
I discovered something interesting as I got into writing novels and humor books. When I got into the zone, the story would begin to write itself. And I wouldn’t know the ending until I got there. The process also had a similar effect on me as it had on my readers. I was reacting to my own imagination as the story emerged. I would sometimes laugh out loud or shout an expletive at the computer screen.
I hope you and all my followers have as much fun reading my books as I have writing them.