I FIND THE BEST PART OF MYSELF WHEN I'M WRITING ...THE NOBLE PART, THE PART THAT CARES ABOUT PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS. (John Deffes, 2006)
The written word has always held great importance in my life, be it in the search of knowledge or in my own writing endeavours. One of my first short stories, took first place in my second grade class writing competition, thus taking my first steps as a writer. I did not seriously take up writing until I got a computer. I've been a skilled typist since high school, and with a keyboard, I was able to convert ideas to electronic 'paper' as fast as they came to mind.
One, of the first pieces I had published was in a Naval Aviation magazine, July 1999. It's kind of technical, but contains my patented humour, and well worth a read and a laugh.
Through my love of aviation history in 2003, two things happened. One I was inspired to write about a missing World War II pilot, Jack R. Warren - a remembrance piece. He was a pilot assigned to the 357th Fighter Group and lost without a trace on a combat mission, Jack's fate is still unknown. However as a veteran, I have always held a close affinity for those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. I felt very honored when Mr Clarence 'Bud' Anderson - a famous World War II 'Ace' pilot, published the remembrance piece on his website. In my opinion, my words were inadequate and unable to convey the deep meaning that the sacrifices of men like Jack R. Warren have made, but I continue to try. We can't ever forget what the men and women of our armed forces have done for us.
In 2003, I decided to write a novel. Even before writing a word down, I already knew the middle and ending of the story - therefore beginning my novel writing career. It was natural for me to center my novel around my love of World War II aviation. It took until December of 2005, to complete the novel - 'Until My Last Breath'. It was picked up for publication by Vintage Romance Publishing, and published on July 30 2006. Statistically speaking, I wrote 25 chapters, or 82,000 words, or 265 of text (double-spaced) in Microsoft Word - if memory serves me correctly.
Each one of those pages, chapters and words; have given me the courage and thirst to pursue writing even more so. I am now busily working on my second novel.
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