I Have A Writing Problem, From Poetry to Prose: A Journey Through My Writing Career

I have had a writing problem all of my life.  When I was a teenager I was into poetry, exercising my angst in line after line, with what I though was powerful, deep emotionally charged prose.  Reading them these many years later, I don't see the depth and power.  I believe that there in nothing better for clarifying your thinking than put your thoughts down on paper.  After having to write for work for more that thirty years I decided that I was going to take a stab at writing a novel.

 My first effort that I published was Constant Vigilance.  I had spent years listening to conspiracy theories and wondered what was true and what was spin.  I came to believe that I was seldom told the true facts.  I would examine the story the best I could and come up with my own conclusions.  I took my years of interest in truth and created Constant Vigilance.  The basic premise of the book is found in the title.  We must always watch out, question, challenge authority, and come to our own conclusions.

After Constant Vigilance I published The Mountains of Yellowstone.  A favorite phrase of mine for many years was "I am blessed with self awareness, but cursed with an inability to do anything with the information."  The Mountains of Yellowstone is set in the National Park and follows a couple of souls that are on parallel journeys.  They work in the Park for the summer and explore the region.  Along the way they question their life decisions and chart a new path in search of happiness and fulfillment.

I am currently working on a new novel.  The working title is Excessive Force.  The story is in a small southern town with the County Sheriff and his wife as the main characters.  The Sheriff sees himself as a guardian of his community and runs his Department with that philosophy.  He wants to maintain the character of his community and its way of life.  Others, with less scruples, want to profit from the qualities of the country side and develop the area for vacation homes and tourist.  The proponents for change through dishonest means, unseat the Sheriff and replace him with their man.  The new Sheriff takes the warrior approach to policing and a young man is shot and killed by a Deputy.  The community is jolted by this event that sharpens the divide between quality of life and monetary gain.
I have fifty thousand words at this time.  I estimate that another thirty thousand are need to complete the story.