Just six weeks to go!
The obvious question about my choice of topic is how does a writer in Orange County, California come to write a book about the Battle of Britain? The Lord works in mysterious ways, but as near as I can divine it all began with the 1969 movie.
I get emails asking for writing advice. Everyone has a book in them and they want to know how to put theirs on the page. My response is always disappointing. There's no pixie dust. Just tell a story. If you get stuck about how to start, begin with "once upon a time." Write one page a day and in a year you've got a book.
But I never tell them about the book report. . . .
Taking London is the best thing I've ever written. These past two weeks making one final edit were like Christmas. I'd literally wake up at 3 a.m., eager to find better ways to tell the story. Then I'd force myself to go back to sleep, reminding myself a rested edit is a sharper edit. I'd dream about the characters, letting them tell me more about their arc.
Most writers don't love editors. I do. Back since Beth Hagman at Competitor Magazine told me to tell stories in the most linear fashion possible ("the horse pulls the cart over the trail by the fastest route"), the notion of editors crafting a story has been in my head. Through Jason Kaufman, Geoff Shandler, Gillian Blake, and Brent Howard, these wonderful people have made me better. And don't get me started on how much I love copy editors. This gushing deserves an explanation.
