J.D. Webb

J. D. (Dave) Webb resides in Illinois with his wife (42years in Dec 2009 and counting) and their toy poodle, Ginger, losing all family votes 2 to 1. Dave served in the Security Service of the Air Force as a Chinese linguist and weather analyst in Viet Nam and the Philippines prior to spending 25 years in corporate management. After a company purge he promoted himself to cobbler and owned a shoe repair and sales shop for 11 years. During those careers Webb wrote short stories and suppressed an urge to write a novel. After making a conscious decision to live at the poverty level, novels began forcing their way out.

Welcome, Dave. Tell us when the writing bug bit you and in what genres.

In high school in 1959 a proclivity for mischief garnered a seat in the creative writing class as punishment. It was the best thing they ever did to (for) me. And since that time I’ve never hesitated to do mischief.

My passion for mysteries began at about the same time when I read Rex Stout’s Fer de Lance. I was hooked, and I still am.

What are your writing goals?

Trying not to be flippant, my goal has been fulfilled. I began in 2002 with one goal in mind: to finish a novel. Everything else is gravy, icing on the cake or whatever cliché you want to use. I write because I can’t not write and my current goal is merely to keep pounding on the keyboard

Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?

No actual message. I just want everyone to enjoy the story. To feel connected with my characters; to love the protagonists; and to want the nasties to get their due. My books will always have a happy ending.

Tell us about Smudge.

Smudge published by L & L Dreamspell is my first stand-alone novel. I had an idea about a small town girl trying to make it despite obstacles, which would stop most of us in our tracks. She fights chauvinism on her job, an abusive husband, criminals, and health issues, proving to be that strong, resourceful, determined woman, well known in the USA.

What’s the hook for the book?

A small-town paralegal wipes a smudge off the screen of her ATM one night. It’s blood.
Were any of your books more challenging to write than the others? If so, why?

Smudge, my latest was the most challenging. It’s from a totally female perspective. Being male I had to be extremely careful to tap into my female side. As a female, you don’t just say purple describing a color. It has to be shades of fuchsia, orchid, or lavender. Fortunately I had five ladies (all excellent writers) in my writing group who gently chided me, telling me, “a woman would never say or do that!”

Where do you write? What do you have around you?

I converted a bedroom into my office. I have my trusty computer (without which I could only produce one book every five years, instead of one a year), a thermos of ice-cold water, and jellybeans. On my wall - a 3 ft by 2 ft target (a poster size image of a man crouching, pointing a gun at you) I received while going through pistol training (nine out of ten in the body), my huge painting of a stalking white wolf in the Canadian winter, and a pipe rack with over twenty formerly smoked pipes. Then there’s my printer, my how-to-write books and my indispensable Flip Dictionary. Observing me at all times is my toy poodle, Ginger, who goads me out of my sedentary state at times by having us go for a walk.

What are your current projects?

I tired of seeing authors from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India et al, appearing on the New York Times bestseller list. I don’t begrudge them I’m just envious. So I have become Khataa Baasem writing a novel about a teenage boy who is plucked from his Afghan home by a Taliban tribal leader after that man had killed the boy’s father. He is then forced to train as a member of the militia in Pakistan. Having been orphaned, the boy’s only quest becomes killing the man who destroyed his life. By the way Khataa Baasem in Pashtu means to deceive. The working title is The Sun Also Sets.

Interesting approach.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

www.jdwebb.com

www.lldreamspell.com

www.wings-press.com

www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/jdavewebb?ref=profile

www.jdwebb.com

Shepherd’s Pie (Golden Wings Award winner)

Moon Over Chicago (2008 Eppie Finalist)

Her Name Is Mommy (Now available)

Smudge (2010)

The Drifter Revenge II Anthology (2010)

Stuck in Valhalla (available at Sniplits.com)

Thanks for dropping by, Dave, and continued success to a fellow Dreamspell author.