April 2022 marked the thirty-year anniversary of the Rodney King Riots. The thirty-year-old grainy news footage doesn’t nearly do justice to the chaos of the time. It was a horrific time in law enforcement. In 1992 I had been a uniformed Long Beach police officer for five years. I was at the point where I had my feet under me as an officer in patrol. I was assigned to day patrol on the west side of downtown Long Beach. I was working by myself the day the King verdicts came down. The morning was quiet and uneventful, and I had no idea what was brewing. There was no indication that anything would happen. The first sign of trouble came when, just before school ended, fights broke out at a high school in North Long Beach. Then there were reports of groups of high school kids charging into stores and looting. Word came down that a large crowd of teenagers planned on looting the Long Beach mall. All downtown personnel were ordered to the mall to provide security until the mall could be locked down and the employees could get out safely. When I arrived, there were 10 or 12 of…

Every writer struggles at one point or another with plot glitches, mid-book sag, or general story problems or inconsistencies. I’m not sure how everyone deals with these issues, but I know how I do. I must get away from the desk. Here are my top five places to go and work out the kinks, the wrinkles, and the blank pages. Ranked in reverse order. 5–Writer’s conference: This is actually a great place to help any writer struggling with a story; it’s only ranked last because it’s hit-or-miss that you’ll be having a plot problem with a conference right around the corner. A conference is a great place to stir creative juices. 4–Coffee shop: When I first started writing, a coffee shop was my go-to place to scribble out a story sketch. The shop where I lived at the time had great coffee and the perfect atmosphere to sit with pen and paper. (That’s how I plot; the computer comes later.) Unfortunately, I’ve not found a coffee shop that suits me as well as that first one did. 3–Dog walks: I have two Labs, Abbie and Tilly, and we walk three miles every morning. I love this time, early in the…

I love to write fiction, and because of my law enforcement background, I write mystery/suspense and deal with cops, crimes, and criminals. Sometimes, when researching for a novel, the articles and websites tell tragic stories, emotionally draining. The darkness can be overwhelming. My upcoming release, Cold Aim, deals with human trafficking. Talk about dark. Modern-day slavery is far more prevalent than people want to believe. And it’s not only the crimes. Lately, a lot has been going on in law enforcement that is tragic and sad. It seems like every day an officer is shot—on the whole, the world is just going crazy. I’m not complaining, because with my fiction I control the outcome, so nothing goes unpunished as far as my novels are concerned. Often, however, I do need a little recharging, a reminder that God is in control and evil never wins. A few months ago, I moved to paradise. At least it’s paradise to me. I moved to the Big Island of Hawaii, looking for a more temperate climate, something that would be easier on my back and my knees. So far, so good. Usually, the temp runs about eighty-five, but nice, gentle trade winds make it…