Karen Jackson asked Rick Ludwig:

What inspires you to write?

Rick Ludwig Dear Karen,

I have not looked at my Goodreads Author page for over a year and just got on to let people know I have a new book coming out, when I saw your question. I apologize for not answering your question when you asked it and would completely understand if you are less than pleased with me.

The answer to your question is not one thing. It is a collection of things that came together to not only inspire me to write, but allow me to focus on writing. I spent most of my life in scientific research in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. I wrote my first book, a memoir, while I was still working full time but did so as part of my therapy suggested for severe depression, which I was suffering from at the time. This was back in 1998. Another part of that treatment was a trip I took to the Holy Land. The book described my entire battle with depression, including that life-changing trip. I shared this book only with close friends and relatives, who were extremely complimentary about my writing style. Ten years later, when I retired from scientific research, I decided to get serious about writing. It helped greatly that we moved to Maui when I retired. This amazing island made it seem perfectly proper to write. A lot of creative people live here and collecting a lot of creative people on a small beautiful island is a catalyst. I spent the first year digitizing everything that I had ever written to form an electronic writers journal. The earliest entry was from when I was eight years old. Of course, I had a lot of writing I'd done in school and all of my published scientific papers and books. I then attended a writers conference on Oahu and shared my memoir with editors, publishers and agents. They liked my writing but questioned the market potential of a memoir of an unknown scientist writing about depression. Probably a good call. I went back to Maui and started to write some fiction. A year latter I attended my first writers workshop, again on Oahu. I shared my work with other budding writers and the best selling author who taught us. I learned a great deal and went back to my stories. The next year, at the same workshop, my writing was much better, but I was trying to write three different novels simultaneously. Our teacher suggested that I merge the three and this became my first novel, Mirrored. I had never set out to write a mystery but found that format allowed me the freedom to share my crazy ideas in a structured way--a police investigation. I also joined a writers group in Lahaina and found sharing with other writers my works in progress and commenting on theirs charged me up. Having the beautiful, friendly, peaceful Island of Maui as my backdrop provided a stark contrast to the brutal crimes my detective protagonist dealt with on a daily basis. Now for the one sentence answer to your question.

I was inspired by the feeling that I had I had something important to say, a unique way to say it, and a safe place to do the work.

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