Interesting question, and no quick answer. The short of it is I wrote a fair amount of literature right after college. (I thought I was too good for action fiction, I suppose…)
At that point, I was a bit disillusioned with action books. Having chased my childhood dream of wanting to serve in the Marine Corps, I’d learned the harsh truth that actually being in the infantry isn’t nearly as fun or glamorous as the books make it out to be.
And I had quickly discovered from my friends that it wasn’t just my time in the Marines that falls short of expectations. Turns out, it’s about every career, everywhere. As most of you know, life’s a challenge. And it sucks much of the time.
So, I was writing all kinds of literature during that time — and I’d generically define literature as writing about “real life” — and everything I wrote was really dark and black and hellish. Frankly, completely depressing.
Long story short, I learned that people need to escape real life and read fun stories, and for me, there’s nothing that beats a great book that pulls me out of my present reality and transplants me into an awesome life-and-death struggle.
As to why I write in the action genre over mystery and other genres, that’s pretty simple. Action books are what I’ve read my entire life. I feel I know and understand the genre, and it’s where I’m most comfortable trying to make it as an author.
In short, everyone needs a hero — myself included — and I love writing about Nick Woods and warriors just like him.
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