Bob Doerr – Air Force Veteran – Award Winning Author

Thank you, George, for having me on today. I’ve been writing now for twelve years and have to admit it; I enjoy writing. I guess it’s the storyteller in me. My background has helped me come up with ideas, as I spent nearly thirty years in the Air Force in a career field with a mission very similar to the FBI. I spent another eight years as a financial advisor before becoming a full-time writer. Both jobs gave me a lot of insight into people’s behavior.

In all, I’ve had sixteen books published, two more that I’ve self-published, and one that I co-authored with three other writers. I’ve also had a few short stories published in anthologies. Most of my work has been in the mystery or thriller genres. However, I have four fantasy, adventure books published in the juvenile fiction series.

I have never found writing in different genres difficult. It might be because for years, I wrote short stories for my three daughters as they were learning to read and then for my grandchildren.

In the Air Force, I wrote or reviewed hundreds if not thousands of criminal and counterintelligence investigative reports. While none of my books are based on true crime or actual intelligence reports, my experience gave me thousands of ideas and plots.
I have a fairly strict writing process that includes leaving home before eight each morning, finding a spot inside or outside a coffee house, and writing for about an hour and a half. If I can keep this pace, I find that I can produce a 70,000-word book in around nine months. My first book took longer as I lacked discipline and confidence. My advice to any beginning author is to stay with it, despite any initial disappointments. My first book is admittedly my worst edited. I’ve learned since.

Writing at home has always been difficult for me as I find myself too easily distracted by the refrigerator, the television, or some other project that comes to mind. The noise around me at a Starbucks, for example, I can ignore. In fact, I sometimes describe a character after a customer that catches my eye. I sometimes wonder if a lot of authors aren’t people watchers, too.

I never start with an outline, although I often find myself reading what I’ve written after about sixty or seventy pages and taking notes to ensure I haven’t changed names or descriptions of characters or gone too astray in my plot. After that, I try to remember to add to my character list as I go, but I still find myself mixing up who did what or names. When I finish the entire manuscript, I read the entire story and make a number of changes. About the third or fourth time, I feel the story is good enough to have other people read it to identify mistakes or recommend improvements.

My protagonist in my Jim West mystery series, my first series, is a retired Special Agent from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. While I am too, that is where the similarities between Jim and me (or any other person) ends. Giving Jim a background I could relate to, and have him living in a state where I also lived for years, made the stories easier to write. After writing five books about Jim, I started my second series: the Clint Smith thriller series. I alternate now between the two series.

The Treasure, my newest book, is the fourth book in the Clint Smith series and is set to be released in April. Clint is a “hunter,” the nice word given to him as a job description that more accurately should be government assassin. The small office to which he belongs is so buried under layers of classified cover mission descriptions that only a few in the government know what they really do.

In The Treasure, Clint heads to Las Vegas on vacation after a successful mission in South America to dig up a stagecoach strongbox he had found in the desert earlier but had left unopened. Upon inspection, he finds several well-preserved old documents. He gives the contents of the strongbox to a lawyer to find buyers. One of the documents, unfortunately, creates a maelstrom of violence and murder, and puts Clint squarely in the crosshairs of some Chinese assassins. Clint leaves Las Vegas to keep out of the spotlight, only to find himself going to Alaska in an attempt to rescue a female police officer assigned to protect him in Las Vegas.

I have always been a big reader and have really enjoyed the works of many authors. Some like Ian Fleming, Rex Stout, John D. MacDonald, Robert Ludlum, I grew up reading. Their work still influences me, while I have since moved on to more contemporary authors.

I will continue to write until my eyes, or my fingers go. I do enjoy it, and if your followers choose to read one of my books, I’d love to receive any feedback or comments they may have. My website is www.bobdoerr.com, and I have an author page on Facebook (20+) Bob Doerr – Author | Facebook
Thank again – Bob Doerr

 

 

3 Comments

  1. Thonie Hevron

    Thanks for this interesting interview. I had no idea Bob was such an accomplished author. Great fun to read!

    Reply
  2. Michael A. Black

    I’ve known Bob Doerr for years and he’s one of the nicest guys in the writing business. I’ve read some of his books and he’s an excellent writer, too. His military background gives him a perspective that few have, and he’s a natural born storyteller who knows how to spin a good yarn. If you’re unfamiliar with Jim West or Clint Smith, do yourself a favor and check them out. You won’t be disappointed.

    Reply

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David Knop – Novelist of the Modern Southwest

Novelist, US Marine, and lifelong student of the American Southwest.

David, please tell us how a Marine became a novelist. I sort of fell into writing by my former profession. Part of my career in the Marines included several tours as a staff officer. The principal duty of a staff officer is to read and write all sorts of documents for the commanding officer. Over the years, several of my seniors told me I was a good writer. I was hooked!

I live in a three-bedroom condo, and one of those rooms is my office. I have it decorated with Native American artifacts of all kinds, which serve not only as items of beauty but items that express the colorful history of the Southwest. I am inspired by the suggestion these artifacts bring of people who were able to live in a harsh land and survive there to this day. I allow no distractions, but they pay no attention to my wishes.

The hardest part of my writing process is sitting in a chair and grinding for five to six hours a day, five days a week. Every now and then, I get a flash of inspiration, but the burst of ideas is soon overshadowed by the research, analysis, and crafting needed to support the idea. In the end, my brain surge delivers new things I did not know before, and that’s where the fun of writing comes in.

My favorite author has to be Michael Connelly, followed by Robert Crais.

I travel to the scene of my crimes. My main character, Peter Romero, lives in New Mexico, and Poisoned by God’s Flesh start there. I’ve lost count of my visits to New Mexico since 1963, and I never cease to marvel at its beauty. My first novel, Mining Sacred Ground, takes place in the wilds of Arizona, a place I’ve visited annually (almost) since 1956. Animal Parts sends Romero to Oklahoma, a location I was stationed at while in the Marines. Twice. My newest novel, Dead Horses, takes place in Southern Colorado, a state I’ve loved since graduating from CU Boulder in 1965. My next novel will take place in Nevada, and that’s about all I know about the story. Many Vegas trips coming up? Of course.

How long did it take to get your first book finished? The Smoked Mirror took ten years, but it was a training vehicle and may never see the light of day.

When does your newest novel become available? Dead Horses – A Peter Romero Mystery, will be released by Amazon on October 9, 2020.

My historical characters are based on Native American legends. The problem with legends is that they are often embellished by succeeding generations of storytellers and listeners. Research will get you either a lack of information on a particular legend or confusing, contradictory stories without attribution to a source. It’s sort of a Wild West in a sense. This is where imagination and artistry come in.

My character names are out of the phone book or from the internet. If I need a character, say the sheriff of a certain county, I look up that person online. Let’s say his name is Johnson. The fictitious character’s name I will use is Jonsson. Nobody gets hurt.

Do you ever use real people for your characters? In my first novel, I tried to base my main character on people I know. It didn’t work for me, so I switched to modeling my characters after imaginary people I have developed. It works a lot better for me.

What can you tell us about your protagonist? My character is somewhere in between introspective and strong-willed. He pushes until push comes to shove, then he attacks. He is a bulldog who is not afraid to bite. How about your antagonists. My antagonists are spiritual in nature and have human characteristics, more often have animal characteristics. To make them human, I give them a sense of humor.

Do you work in any subplot? I usually have two subplots that present complications that challenge the main character and reveal more of his inner strengths.

Pantser or plotter? I am definitely a seat-of-the-pants plotter. The last paragraph leads me to the next. I tried outlining once, but it was only distracting work.

Where do you conduct your research? Most of my research is on the internet. I also have an extensive library on the main interest in my writing life – Native Americana. I have attended classes on Native Americana for the past 25 years and sob up everything I can on the subject, including membership in the Archeological Conservancy. I also write about places I know, which enhances my research online and in reading.

 

2 Comments

  1. Thonie Hevron

    Looking forward to reading this book!

    Reply
  2. Michael A. Black

    Dave’s books are highly entertaining. His Peter Romero character is an engaging protagonist and his knowledge of Native American folklore is brilliantly portrayed. Anybody who enjoyed the works of the late Tony Hillerman, as I did, will certainly like the books of David Knop. I’m ordering Dead Horses first thing tomorrow.

    Reply

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