Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing since 2013. Shortly after surgery, I was bored stiff. My wife brought me my laptop and I began Blue Water & Me. I have now published seven books, including the Ted Higuera Series of thrillers and the Catrina Flaherty Mysteries.
If Chevy Chase had played Indiana Jones, he would be me. I have a thirst for adventure, but nothing ever seems to go exactly as planned.
I left my career as a software engineer in the summer of 2012 and set sail for the warm blue waters of Baja California in my56-foot sailboat, the Victory. You may read an account of this adventure on myblog at www.pennwallace.com.
I currently lives in San Diego, but we’re getting ready for our next big adventure next year. I’m pretty sure it will have something to do with Panama and the Caribbean.
Currently, I’mworking on the next Ted Higuera Thriller.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Murder Strikes Twice.
All of my mystery/thrillers are based on true stories. The case Cat follows in Murder Strikes Twice just came to court in real life and, fortunately, real-life imitated my ending.
A husband had two wives. The first was killed in a tire-changing accident. The second killed in a fall off a cliff. He collected nearly two million dollars in insurance money.
Wouldn’t you be curious? Catrina Flaherty and her crew take on the mystery and I guarantee you you won’t guess the ending.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a dedicated full-time writer. I get up every morning (seven days a week) and make coffee, then head to my office to start my day. I spent about four hours writing, the break for breakfast.
After breakfast I usually devote two to four hours on marketing my books, then back to writing.
I usually produce about three books a year.
I don’t hang from rafters or work in a dark cave. When I’m on the Victory, sailing around the world, I work from the galley table and connect to the Internet whenever we’re in port.
I’m a plotter, not a pantser. Most writers I know write from the seat of their pants. They don’t know where the story is going when they start it. They have an idea and some characters.
I was a software engineer in another life. I am a methodical, analytical person. I start with a beat sheet to figure out what the scenes the book needs. From that, I know who the characters are, so I write character sketches. Once this is done, I write the outline.
The outline usually is 15 – 20 pages in length. After all of this, I know the story so well, that I sit down to write. Something magical happens. I don’t think about what I’m writing, my fingers just hit keys and the story unfolds on the computer screen in front of me. I’m as delighted to see how it turns out as you will be when you read it.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
There’s a long list.
Let’s start with Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan. He wrote fantastic adventure stories with multiple plot lines that intertwined and came together in the end.
I also love Elizabeth George. She writes a mystery series about Inspector Lindley. You get so caught up in the characters lives that you don’t care who done it.
Tom Clancy was also an influence. With his incredible complicated plots and intertwining stories, I fell in love with his long, long books.
Finally, I’d have to say Robert Ludlum. He gave me my love of thrillers. I still think the Bourne Identity is the best thriller ever written.
What are you working on now?
The working title is “The Cartel Strikes Back.” This is the fifth book in the Ted Higuera Series.
In book 3, The Mexican Connection, Ted and friends were lured to Mexico and plunged into the drug wars. They left a trail of bodies in their wake.
In The Cartel Strikes Back, one of the drug lords that Ted put away breaks out of prison and vows vengeance on Ted.
The whole cast will be back in action. Ted will propose to the love of his life and there will be a twist ending that you will never see coming
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Check out my website at www.pennwallace.com.
I am also developing what I call my “pyramid marketing plan.” There’s a 30-page paper on eBook marketing on my website if you’re interested.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
1. Join a good writers group. Nothing will help you develop your craft more. Try to get into a group with writers who are better than you. The better they are ,the better they will force you to become.
2. You are the author. You’ll get all sorts of advice from many sources: friends, family, writers groups, writers conferences. You are the final arbitrator of what goes in your book. Listen to everything you’re told, but use only what makes sense for you.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Never give up.” – Sir Winston Churchill.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Silent Cats: Deadly Dance. A thriller about two spies who fall in love and get married only to have their past come back to haunt them.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I intend to publish two Ted Higuera stories and at least one Catrina Flaherty Mystery in 2016. I really want to get back to work on a historical novel I set aside.
It’s the story of my great-grandfather and his adventures during the American Civil War.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
No question, Lonesome Dove is first. I think Gus McRae is the greatest character in American literature.
Next comes Ken Follett. Pillars of the Earth is the best book I’ve ever read, but my favorite Follett book is Night Over Water.
Patrick O’Brien. I love his Master and Commander series. I would take all of them, but if I only got three or four books, I’d start and the beginning with Master and Commander.
Author Websites and Profiles
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