Author Q&A: Bill Briscoe

Today we're interviewing award-winning author Bill Briscoe, who writes mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels.

Briscoe grew up in the oil and gas refinery town of Phillips in the Texas Panhandle. As his retirement was on the horizon, he had an idea about a book.

That idea became Pepperman’s Promise, the prequel to The Pepperman Mystery Series, leading to Perplexity and Panic Point, the next two books in the series.

SADYE: Tell us something about your writing process that’s unusual.

BILL: I use a spiral notebook and a blue BIC pen to write my first draft of a chapter.

Then I transfer that to a computer and print out the chapter to revise and edit.

This works for me. I’m on spiral notebook number nine for the next book in my series.

SADYE: What have been the most surprising, rewarding, and challenging parts of your writing career?

BILL: Surprising — writing is much more difficult than I thought.

Rewarding — getting my first book published.

Challenging — making time to write.

SADYE: What period of history would you most like to travel back to and what historical figure would you most like to meet?

BILL: 1941-1945. I’d like to meet General George Patton. He was a tough-minded SOB.

SADYE: What message would you like readers to take away from your work?

BILL: I want my characters to be seen as real people, someone readers can identify with.

In my stories the villains have at least one positive trait, and the protagonist has a character flaw.

SADYE: What advice, as it relates to your writing career, would you give your younger self?

BILL: Attend conferences and academies on writing. Find a great editor. Read books in your genre. See how successful authors write.  

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Learn more about Bill Briscoe on his website, where his books can also be purchased; like him on Facebook; and follow him on Twitter. 

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