I don't believe in being serious about anything. I think life is too serious to be taken seriously.
Writing has always been a hobby and an escape for me. Like many of us, I grew up in a turbulent household where losing myself in a world of imagination by reading, helped relieve some of life’s troubles. I would adapt fairy tales and take them to school so friends could take parts and re-enact them. Sometimes I changed the ending because only happy endings were conceivable.
I still have that tendency; I avoid dramatic movies (couldn’t watch Schindler’s List) and prefer something lighthearted. If a story gets too dark I can’t face it. Perhaps I’m emotionally shallow but I agree with the sentiment of Keep it Gay from The Producers by Mel Brooks—”People want laughter when they see a show, the last thing they’re after is a litany of woe.” The same applies to books—”Keep it light, keep it bright, keep it gay. Whether it’s murder, mayhem or rage!”
With two degrees (accounting and teaching) I’ve enjoyed several careers and have had more experience writing business letters and manuals than escapist fiction. Turning my passion into a career in my twilight years has been a huge thrill for me and confirmation that age need be no barrier to achieving your dreams.
I enjoy writing entertaining, escapist fiction, usually crime based. Criminals are supremely inventive characters. You can’t help but admire their ingenuity.
While I don’t think crime should be glorified, it does exist and makes for some thrilling and suspenseful plots. The threat of danger and death always ups the stakes of a story.
My favourite genre, the comic crime category, has been around since the mysteries of Alan Melville and Agatha Christie, uniquely blending a punch with a punchline. Modern authors like Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Bond and Margaret Lashley carry on the tradition of adding fun to any funeral.