By Bob Doerr
Thanks, Thonie, for this opportunity to be on your blog. I enjoy writing and telling stories, and in the last eleven years, I have had fifteen books published. All my books are fiction, so a question people often asked me is, “Where do you get all the ideas for your stories?”
I explain that after nearly thirty years in a career that focused on criminal investigations and counterintelligence operations followed by eight years in financial planning, I started my writing career with a plethora of ideas. The stories were all there, bouncing around in my cluttered mind. The difficult part is not coming up with a new story, but selecting which one I want to turn into a book.
While I have no shortage of ideas to plot out, sometimes my friends encourage me to set my story in a specific place or situation. That’s how my selection of an ocean cruise for the setting of my newest book came about. I’ve been on a half dozen cruises, and inevitably, while on the cruise, one or more of my friends would talk about how a cruise would be a great setting for a murder mystery or thriller. I liked the idea, too.
I also decided to do something different with this eighth Jim West adventure. I brought back two characters from prior books, something I hadn’t done before. The book is still a “stand alone” read, but in coming up with a reason to put Jim on a cruise, I wanted to give him a traveling companion, and, perhaps, finally develop a long term relationship with a woman.
Since nothing ever seems to come easy for Jim, I thought how better to mess with his vacation than to throw a murder or two or three at him. He is sucked into the murder investigation by the unexpected presence of a former lady friend. Her husband of barely twenty four hours is the second victim, and as she had years earlier, she turns to Jim for help.
I enjoyed writing Honeymoons Can Kill and hope readers will like the book, too. Thank you again, Thonie, for having me on your blog.
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Bob Doerr, an Air Force veteran, has fifteen published books. His past books have won a variety of awards, and Bob was selected as the Author of the Year by the Military Writers Society of America in 2013. Bob lives in Garden Ridge, TX, with his wife of 46 years.
To buy this novel, click here: Honeymoons Can Kill
