Today we have another fantastic author. Bill Briscoe. Hi Bill, tell us a little about yourself and how you were raised.

I retired in 2009. I had owned my own business. I was raised in a blue-collar environment. My dad worked in a gasoline refinery surrounded by a town of four thousand in the Texas panhandle. A number of years ago the gas company sold all of the company-owned houses, and they were moved to a different location across the area. The place where I spent my growing up years no longer exists.

What’s your favorite genre to read and write? Who’s your favorite author?

My favorite genre to read is non-fiction history and current affairs. I like to write mystery. James Patterson is my favorite mystery author.

What age did you realize you loved books? When did you start writing?

My mom read me books when I was little. My favorite was Scuffy the Tugboat, and that Little Golden Book is still available. I made a point to be sure my children and grandchildren got their own copies. I’ve always had books in my home.

I started writing after I retired.

There’s some encouragement for those of us that are older and just started writing! Tell us about this book.

Perplexity, Book One of the Pepperman Mystery Series, is a story about Jim Pepperman. He visits his dad’s gravesite and makes a stunning confession about a situation that happened eleven years earlier. When he leaves the cemetery, someone takes a shot at him. Jim wonders if someone has finally discovered what happened on that night years ago.

Perplexity—What happens when a mistake from the past threatens to derail the future?

Do you normally use an outline for the books you write, or do you just start with a few ideas?

I plot my books before I start writing. I use a screenplay technique with acts and scenes. It works really well with book writing.

Is there a special place you like to write?

I like to write at the table in the breakfast room or in my man cave. I start with a pen and a spiral notebook. It’s old-fashioned, but it works for me.

What was something that surprised you in the way this book unfolded? What character do you like best?

Plotting before I write takes away the surprises. I may change a scene or enhance another, but there really aren’t surprises as the story unfolds.

In Perplexity, I like Detective Sean Halpin, special investigator for the Newark, New Jersey Police Department. He’s an ex-Air Force Colonel who uses psychological techniques for interrogation.

What advice would you give a new author?

My advice—go to writing conferences, talk with successful authors, find a critique group, read books by successful authors, get a good editor early on, and most important, never, ever give up.

What project are you working on now and how do we find your books?

I’m currently working on Book Two of The Pepperman Mystery Series. I’ll be revealing the title and cover soon. This story takes place in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I’ve traveled there twice in the last several months. On-site research is important for me to describe the smells, the sounds at night, and the people who live there. The Appalachian Trail is part of my story, and I walked along a portion of it.

My books—Pepperman’s Promise, prequel to The Pepperman Mystery Series and Perplexity, are available on Amazon.

You can find more information on my website—www.billbriscoe.com and my blog at billbriscoe.blogspot.com.

 

 

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