A writer's journey...

Kenneth Hoss who   is a former police officer, turned mystery writer.  He's agreed to answer some questions about the time he worked as an officer to provide us insight into that life. A Look Behind the Badge Where did you serve? El Cajon, California. It’s a small suburb east of San Diego. (Well, maybe small is over simplified, perhaps medium sized.) However, that I was in the late ‘80’s and I moved away in 1996. Why did you become a cop? Being a “cop” to me was more of a calling, something I felt I needed to do. I got the opportunity to help people, to “Serve and Protect”. Of course, not everyone I met appreciated my “assistance”, mostly the “bad” guys. How long were you assigned to a training officer (TO), and what was that experience like? I started off with a training officer for my first 6 months before I got to ride solo. He was a grizzled veteran and why he was a training officer I still can't figure out to this day. I recall one night as we drove around o...

Designed by George Arnold for my personal use It took about two and half months, but I just finished Eleven , my 7th novel!  It ended up at approximately 107,000 words, and for a thriller the word count is perfect.  Of course, it's just the first draft, and I know there's lot of work to come. Thank you everyone for all the encouragement you've given me along the way!

Back at the end of March, I had a post entitled " How Did You Make Out? ".  In it myself and few others reviewed what we had accomplished in March, and set goals for the month of April.  Now, h ere we are at the beginning of yet another month, and the question is again:  How did you make out? My goals for April were: 1) finish  Eleven 2) finish that synopsis (that is so far beating me!) 3) send out 10-15 queries for my first mystery 4) and, of course, keep posting regularly to this blog : ) How did I end up? 1) so close to the end of   Eleven   it's almost painful!  Over 100k of my 110k first draft target.  I wrote 47,934 words in the month of April for this alone! 2) honestly (lol) I had forgotten about it.  I had some helpful feedback from betas, was happy with it, but never actually declared it finished. 3) ...maybe this post wasn't a good idea. lol  It's holding me accountable!  6 emailed, 1 prepared for the mail (however, ...

Drowning is one cause of death that can be difficult for a M.E. (Medical Examiner) to conclude.  To determine drowning as the cause of death, other factors have to be ruled out first. Drowning in its basic form is asphyxiation – basically the inability to breathe.  When we think of drowning, normally we associate that with water, but that’s not the only thing we can drown in.  We can drown in basically any form of liquid (even our own vomit). There are 2 types of drowning – dry and wet. Maybe you’re wondering how a drowning can be dry?  But, the dry part refers to water getting into the lungs.  In cases of a dry drowning, the larynx spasms shut, making it impossible to derive oxygen, or exhale carbon dioxide.  Dry drowning is more likely in salt water, than fresh. So how does an M.E. determine a drowning has happened? You might answer water in the lungs.  However,   bodies that have been in the water a long time will have water in their lungs...

“I don’t want you hanging around with so-and-so.  They’re not a good influence.” You likely heard the above from a parent at one point growing up.  Maybe it pushed you closer to that person?  That would be the rebellious streak that seems to live in all of us.  But the focus of today’s post isn’t on what our reaction to this situation would be, it’s on the human nature that lies in your mother’s statement - ‘ so-and-so is not a good influence .’ Is it not true that we’re all influential?  We can affect people in a positive way, or a negative one.  Likewise, they can affect us.  And it doesn’t matter how old we are. As adults, we pride ourselves on our independent nature – “ no one can control me ” – but doesn’t the multi-billion dollar advertising industry prove that wrong every day?  In fact, it preys on the influential part of human nature.  Ask yourself honesty, what was the latest electronic gadget that you bought without any influence...

You've heard it said:  "It's harder to get published these days than ever before".  These words provide some sort of comfort to us when we get a rejection, even though we know they're veneer words.  New writers are getting requests every day.  New writers are being offered contracts.  So, how do you move forward despite the negative feelings that are creeping in on you? My suggestion:  transform that negative energy into positive ambition. You've read the advice:  send out another query for every rejection.  It reminds you that if you believe in yourself, you're not going to give up.  But how does one actually go about putting that into practice?  How can you possibly take a potentially negative thing such as a rejection and make it a positive? Ask yourself this:  have you grown in the process?  Did you learn something from the rejection?  Even a fast form rejection can tell you a lot.  Now, I'm not sayin...

Most of us have heard the term “floater” applied to a dead body found in water.   But does a dead body thrown into a body of water float right away?   The answer is no.   In fact, with no air in the lungs or blood stream, the body sinks.   It’s not until putrefaction occurs, and gases accumulate in the body’s tissues and cavities that the body rises to the surface and floats again. Putrefaction is the process of decomposition, caused by microorganisms (bacteria).  Because the gases are a byproduct of the active bacteria, it is greatly affected by the temperature of the water. In warm water, bacterial growth is accelerated, thereby increasing the gases at a faster rate than in cold water.  A body may float after 1-2 weeks in warm water, and as long as weeks or months in cold water. A general guideline for decay in temperate water: 1-3 days – swollen hands, and face 5-6 days – separation of skin from the body 8-10 days – loss of fingernails These physical...