WHY I WRITE THRILLERS, PART II
In 1966, I began life as a secondary school teacher. In my spare time I continued to churn out Sci-fi stories, each one an extension of the one before, each one a little more imaginative. At this point, I began to fantasise about becoming a published author, so I sent several of my tales to publishers here in Australia. The replies were usually the same: the writing was good, but alas there was no demand for that kind of writing. I hid my disappointment and lost myself in my teaching--using my imagination to invent new and interesting ways to present subject matter--all the while creating new stories whenever time permitted.
For thirty years, I continued in this manner. More and more, my time was devoted to teaching and raising a family. I spent less and less time penning stories. It seemed I had lost the desire both to write and be published. Then, in 1996, my entire life dramatically changed. I began a new relationship, I quit my job and began searching for something new to occupy my interest. Naturally enough, I turned to my old love--writing.
Almost immediately, I began working on a novel, but instead of Sci-fi, I decided to write a murder mystery/thriller. And I guess I have TV to blame for that. From 1957 on, I began to spend as much time watching TV as I did reading. There weren’t a lot of Sci-fi shows on TV at that time, but there was an abundance of westerns and a plethora of ‘cop’ shows. By the time I retired, I’d become an avid fan of American crime shows, ranging from DRAGNET to STARSKY & HUTCH through to MAGNUM PI. This diet was later augmented by an awesome parade of British shows, such as INSPECTOR MORSE, TAGGART and MIDSOMMER MURDERS. Day by day I was becoming a murder/mystery/thriller fan.
I set my first thriller in Alice Springs because this was, and still is in many ways, a remote and--to outsiders--mysterious place and one I’d wanted to visit for many years. I began doing research on the Outback township and soon discovered that numbers of hitchhikers had disappeared while travelling in the region. I was quick to weave this into my novel and suggest a possible explanation for these disappearances.
The other thing I wanted was for my two detectives to be in a relationship, aside from their roles as partners. My aim was to make them more realistic than many of the duos in the TV shows where men and women kept each other at arm’s length. This was something I’d always found lacking in TV dramas, and I think I succeeded in making my characters more believable as a result.
But I hadn’t yet decided on a villain for my first thriller. I’ll endeavour to explain how that character came into being in Part III of this series.
Enjoy this? You're sure to love my new thriller.
Intrigue at Sandy Point, The Oz Files, Book 2
For thirty years, I continued in this manner. More and more, my time was devoted to teaching and raising a family. I spent less and less time penning stories. It seemed I had lost the desire both to write and be published. Then, in 1996, my entire life dramatically changed. I began a new relationship, I quit my job and began searching for something new to occupy my interest. Naturally enough, I turned to my old love--writing.
Almost immediately, I began working on a novel, but instead of Sci-fi, I decided to write a murder mystery/thriller. And I guess I have TV to blame for that. From 1957 on, I began to spend as much time watching TV as I did reading. There weren’t a lot of Sci-fi shows on TV at that time, but there was an abundance of westerns and a plethora of ‘cop’ shows. By the time I retired, I’d become an avid fan of American crime shows, ranging from DRAGNET to STARSKY & HUTCH through to MAGNUM PI. This diet was later augmented by an awesome parade of British shows, such as INSPECTOR MORSE, TAGGART and MIDSOMMER MURDERS. Day by day I was becoming a murder/mystery/thriller fan.
I set my first thriller in Alice Springs because this was, and still is in many ways, a remote and--to outsiders--mysterious place and one I’d wanted to visit for many years. I began doing research on the Outback township and soon discovered that numbers of hitchhikers had disappeared while travelling in the region. I was quick to weave this into my novel and suggest a possible explanation for these disappearances.
The other thing I wanted was for my two detectives to be in a relationship, aside from their roles as partners. My aim was to make them more realistic than many of the duos in the TV shows where men and women kept each other at arm’s length. This was something I’d always found lacking in TV dramas, and I think I succeeded in making my characters more believable as a result.
But I hadn’t yet decided on a villain for my first thriller. I’ll endeavour to explain how that character came into being in Part III of this series.
Enjoy this? You're sure to love my new thriller.
Intrigue at Sandy Point, The Oz Files, Book 2
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