So Deadly, The Female (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781482070712)

I was born and raised in a coal mining town in Pennsylvania and moved across the country to California. Along the way I managed to get a college education, see the Far East on one of Uncle Sam's destroyers and then went to work as an engineering coordinator and chemistry bunker supervisor at what was then, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory's Site 300. On a dare, (really) I went into the insurance business part-time. I liked it so well I made it a career for over forty years. I was fortunate to find and marry Betsy who has managed to put up with me for 42 years so far. Our four kids and their families are scattered along the West Coast. I raced (purely amateur) karts, cars, dirt motorcycles, and boats until they got faster while I got slower. I quit in time before I did any serious damage but, for the thrill of your life, try a Hobie Cat on a beam reach in a thirty mph wind. I've written a newspaper column and had a series of monthly articles in a magazine. I enjoy the craft/art of writing and though I've written fact pieces, I really enjoy fiction writing including the research a good book requires. So Deadly, The Female began when, in a group of writers, someone stated that it was "damn near impossible for a man to write a novel with a woman as, not only the main character, but as the carrier of the action." I made some notes on this very interesting premise but I said nothing. However, I did like the challenge so I started research. I explored women's contemporary history and that going back about two centuries then I expanded that to include ancient historical pieces focused on a woman or women. I found a lot of admirable, strong and determined women, some lovable, some not. I let that mental pot steep until the brew became compelling and I had to start crafting the novel. Whenever I had an interesting scenario I would talk with women -- wife, daughters, friends, even casual friends -- give them the scenario and ask what they would do or what would another woman do in the situation. To say this was interesting is to understate it a ton. To all men: if you want some very interesting conversations, ask a woman's opinion about some situation and then do something foreign to men, shut up and listen !!! Your life will be immeasurable enriched.