Why I wrote a book

Why I wrote Holiday Hospice

More than 10 years ago I watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 & started trying my hand at their craft.  Much to the chagrin of my family & friends yet play along they did.  My best friend’s daughters asked me to act in a comedy interview for some creative film-making with a digital camera.  One comedy interview turned into four action movies some of which had a script, costumes, a plot & a few hours of editing to boot.  Mystery Science Theater retired & the girls grew up.  In that creative vacuum, something new evolved… a wild-man raised by cats who learned the 9-lives secret & other powers from them.  Add in concepts from modern board games based on old writers like H. P. Lovecraft for a little mystery, wrestling/counter-terrorism/The Office-type stuff & a real doozy of a jerk braggart bad guy sheriff to the brew.

For two years I considered that concoction a pleasant daydream which amused me while unwinding before bed.  But it called to me often—sometimes at work, randomly—growing more & more distinct & colorful.  The backstory became irrelevant as the adventure & conflicts unfolded.  Soon I wanted it to expand into the real world, to become tangible.  So I shared what I could of solid substance, flesh & bones & physical mechanisms with my imagination by writing, what else could I do?

As I wrote, the characters spoke, loved, died, etc., and I learned:  Relating closely to these characters especially their flaws, struggles & humor made killing them off rather difficult.  I cried so much throughout the story but not for Sheriff Gladstone, he got exactly what he deserved.  Die they did though, as the plot’s crux was murder with a nod to video game progression.  Hopefully, when the killer takes another victim, the readers will measure that death as meaningful.  My mission within that framework was to deliver variety—who wants to read about 25 decapitated corpses?  One was with an ax, one was with a hand saw, one was with a pane of glass like in The Omen…