Ask the Author: David G. Ferguson
Answered Questions (7)
David G. Ferguson
I daydream a lot. Situations just pop into my head and I begin to shape them based on my life's experiences ... professional law enforcement training, the job itself and leisure adventures (and misadventures ... what happens when an RV trailer bearing self-destructs in the absolute middle of nowhere ... that's just one of many mental cues that will get me started).
David G. Ferguson
I worked a career in natural resources law enforcement. Telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth ... was essential to maintaining my professional credibility. But there was always the urge to embellish.
Writing fiction scratches that itch in a most satisfying way!
Writing fiction scratches that itch in a most satisfying way!
David G. Ferguson
In no particular order ... it depends on what I feel like the moment I go to the shelf for my next book ... Cat and Mouse by James Patterson; Sackett's Land by Louis L'Amour; The Solomon Curse by Clive Cussler and Russell Blake; Knife Edge by Douglas Reeman; Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke; Wreckers Must Breathe by Hammond Innes (Read this once before, but I have to do it again. When R. John Garside reviewed my book TOXIC WATERS for Porthole Magazine, he said it reminded him of this book. It was a tremendous honour to have my work mentioned in the same sentence as the name Hammond Innes.)
David G. Ferguson
Who has more imaginary friends than novelists?
Rob McNabb and Samantha Williams are my favorite fictional couple ... so far, anyhow. You'll find them living in constant peril as they tackle some of the most dangerous poachers imaginable in my novels BEAR RUNNERS and UP HALFWAY CREEK.
Admittedly, Sam and Robbie are my own creation, but I just couldn't help falling madly in love with Sam as I molded the feisty young bush pilot into her role in BEAR RUNNERS. And my heart ached for Rob with every new challenge I threw his way as he tried to gain Sam's attention.
Even in WHITE GOLD (the version of BEAR RUNNERS with the love story dialed back), the relationship between the pair is essential to keeping the readers on the edge of their seats as the suspense builds up to the story's climax.
BEAR RUNNERS, WHITE GOLD, UP HALFWAY CREEK and my first novel, TOXIC WATERS, are all available on Amazon in Paperback and Kindle editions.
Rob McNabb and Samantha Williams are my favorite fictional couple ... so far, anyhow. You'll find them living in constant peril as they tackle some of the most dangerous poachers imaginable in my novels BEAR RUNNERS and UP HALFWAY CREEK.
Admittedly, Sam and Robbie are my own creation, but I just couldn't help falling madly in love with Sam as I molded the feisty young bush pilot into her role in BEAR RUNNERS. And my heart ached for Rob with every new challenge I threw his way as he tried to gain Sam's attention.
Even in WHITE GOLD (the version of BEAR RUNNERS with the love story dialed back), the relationship between the pair is essential to keeping the readers on the edge of their seats as the suspense builds up to the story's climax.
BEAR RUNNERS, WHITE GOLD, UP HALFWAY CREEK and my first novel, TOXIC WATERS, are all available on Amazon in Paperback and Kindle editions.
David G. Ferguson
That's easy ... or at least it has been so far. First off, I write the way Stephen King suggests (did so even before reading his book, Stephen King On Writing). That is, I imagine a situation, then start writing to see where that situation will lead. It almost always leads to a subset of situations from which I carry on. I couldn't for the life of me create a predetermined plot and outline ... nor create one on which a story would follow accurately.
My mind is always flooding me with situations, so I rarely get blocked, but when I do, I simply start writing something that follows generally along the line of my story. Within hours (or even a few days) that new piece either triggers an even better idea, or with some editing, suddenly fits and may even cause a change in the overall direction of my story. That's more or less how I arrived at the ending for my novel TOXIC WATERS.
My mind is always flooding me with situations, so I rarely get blocked, but when I do, I simply start writing something that follows generally along the line of my story. Within hours (or even a few days) that new piece either triggers an even better idea, or with some editing, suddenly fits and may even cause a change in the overall direction of my story. That's more or less how I arrived at the ending for my novel TOXIC WATERS.
David G. Ferguson
With three novels now published (Toxic Waters, Bear Runners and Up Halfway Creek) I'm contemplating another story involving Rob McNabb and Samantha Williams, my primary characters from Bear Runners and Up Halfway Creek. Not sure yet whether I'll keep them working the James Bay Frontier, or start moving them to new postings around Ontario.
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
David G. Ferguson
In Bear Runners, enjoyed putting Rob McNabb and Samantha Williams through a series of life threatening challenges during a particularly severe northern winter. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I decided to do it again in my new novel, UP HALFWAY CREEK. But I changed the setting to highlight a summer misadventure on James Bay and a whole different set of challenges. I'll not give away any more than that, but rest assured, it is not just environmental challenges they'll face.
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