Posts

Image
 Blog December 2024 What Drove You to Become a Cop?  This is the most common of all the questions I have been asked over the years. My response is short, sweet, and to the point. I needed a job. Fresh out of the USMC and highly skilled with the Browning Automatic Rifle and a subset of the arts and sciences of the installation and removal of explosive devices—that is, manufactured and improvised anti-personnel mines—I came to civilian life with absolutely no marketable skills.  One evening after dinner with my parents, I drove across town to meet my buddies and have a cup of coffee. Halfway to my destination, and with the radio tuned to KTKT, the tones of Dragnet caught my attention. As the music faded, a Jack Webb type of voice spoke with a commanding tone; “Are you looking for a career? Now is the time to join a force of professional officers at the Tucson Police Department.” That short little blurb in the quiet of the Tucson streets caught my attention. Yes, I needed no...
Image
  Blog November 2024 What are you up to? That is a typical comment when old friends gather for dinner, drinks, and the simple enjoyment of companionship.  I “retired” three times—one each from the City of Tucson, the City of Lubbock, and the Lubbock Independent School District. However, after each one, I knew I still had gas in my tank and miles to go. Using skills I learned from a broad formal education, and over my fifty-year police career, I turned to writing for pleasure: writing what I wanted when I wanted and, hopefully, opening up a new late-in-life career. It wasn’t and isn't easy, and certainly not for the fainthearted. It is not for casually coasting through my old memories and spilling out a story everyone has been waiting a lifetime to hear.  That is not real life. Nevertheless, having dealt with editors, publishers, booksellers, critics, and scam artists, I have found my “retirement” to be a full-time job but a labor of love. With eight published novels, two ...
Image
  Blog August 2024 Where All the Roads Come Together August! Summertime is almost spent: the first hint of fall is just over the horizon. One more quick weekend for everyone to get in one move vacation; malls fill with families and back-to-school purchases. We’re ready for whatever lies ahead. Or are we ? Sometimes it happens when least expected. This summer had been perfect. We enjoyed a Viking Cruise along the eastern seaboard and the St. Lawrence River—New York, Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Gaspe, and much more.    Our book business jelled. MGM Amazon Prime Video turned full speed ahead with Color of the Prism, and The Russian as movie projects for Amazon Prime. The groundwork has been laid, producers have come forward, trailers have been filmed, the first draft of the screenplay for Prism is complete, and business is moving forward steadily.                             Sudd...