What started you writing?
It started when I was on assignment in the Philippines. Specifically, at Puerto Galera, on the island of Mindoro. I'd been on Mindoro many times before, the first occasion when I was in the Corps, during a SEATO exercise around 1961.
Anyhow, some time around 1995, I started jotting down notes for a journal as I'd been keeping for years, and soon found that I had many elements of a novel. All it lacked was a scenario, and a time frame. I've always been interested in Asian cultures, more so for the Philippines. So, I began writing "Some Called It Paradise". That novel, a saga, took 14 years to complete.
In the meanwhile, I continued to globe trot on investigative assignments, on all continents. As I built an international agency I decided to write stories about some cases. The Mike Roth series was born. For me, these novels are a snap in that no research is required and I simply recall cases and their resolutions, and formulate stories based on a composite of assignments. Contracts and ethics prevent me from publishing actual cases and names.
