Ask the Author: Don Easton
Answered Questions (11)
Don Easton
Hi Dave, I'm not quite that old, but I like to protect myself from identity theft and didn't want to give my date of birth.
I do have a lot of memories to draw on, even though I was born a few centuries later. :-)
Don
I do have a lot of memories to draw on, even though I was born a few centuries later. :-)
Don
Don Easton
Hi Conny, good timing! My latest novel (Subverting Justice) is just starting to arrive. Coles in Tillicum Mall has 8 copies. I expect to be doing author signings at Tillicum on November 5th and 18th. At the moment they are out of some of my other novels but hopefully will have them by then.
Don Easton
My mother-in-law is coming to visit. For a month!
Don Easton
I like the world I live in and prefer to stay rooted in reality. If I ended up in a 'fictional world' what I would do is try to get back home!
Don Easton
I do not read fiction, but there is one couple that comes to mind. Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Trump. Obviously they are not 'real' yet at the same time are known around the world. For me, they bring a constant combination of fear and amusement. An odd sensation...
Don Easton
Hi Bryan, thanks for letting me know you enjoy my novels. I also enjoyed reading 'The Criminal'.
There are some experiences that I don't write about. As you can see in my novels, 'Jack' lives pretty close to the edge when it comes to the law. There are some situations that are best not written about.
I'm just sending my 10th manuscript (A Delicate Matter) off to my publisher this week, so there will be more stories for you to read.
Cheers, Don
There are some experiences that I don't write about. As you can see in my novels, 'Jack' lives pretty close to the edge when it comes to the law. There are some situations that are best not written about.
I'm just sending my 10th manuscript (A Delicate Matter) off to my publisher this week, so there will be more stories for you to read.
Cheers, Don
Don Easton
I am currently working on my tenth novel in the Jack Taggart Mystery series which is about the investigation of the murder of one of Jack's informants and also about money laundering.
My ninth novel (Art & Murder) is due for release on October 24, 2015. Jack Taggart investigates the murder of another undercover operative who was killed while trying to send a message to protect Taggart.
Taggart learns that the murderer is an unidentified person who heads and international gang known to deal in stolen property, including valuable paintings. Taggart locates a valuable painting which the killer wants. He allows himself to be courted by the gang who hope to get their hands on the painting while he attempts to gather evidence in regards to the murder.
His plan to identify the killer is going well, until the killer identifies him first.
My ninth novel (Art & Murder) is due for release on October 24, 2015. Jack Taggart investigates the murder of another undercover operative who was killed while trying to send a message to protect Taggart.
Taggart learns that the murderer is an unidentified person who heads and international gang known to deal in stolen property, including valuable paintings. Taggart locates a valuable painting which the killer wants. He allows himself to be courted by the gang who hope to get their hands on the painting while he attempts to gather evidence in regards to the murder.
His plan to identify the killer is going well, until the killer identifies him first.
Don Easton
From personal experience, but which parts are based on fiction and which parts are true will only be known to me...
Don Easton
Take writing courses, do not use your spouse to critique your work and most of all - perseverance!
Don Easton
Much of my writing is based on personal experience and as such, when faced with writer's block, I do one of two things. The first being is to try "free fall" writing where I will force myself to write for five minutes. I may start off writing that "this is a dumb idea, I can't think of anything" but often my brain will kick in and write about something from my past that up to now, my brain had protected me by forgetting because of its horrific nature. It is like unlocking a door to my brain.
A more common method for me is to relax and put my writer's block on the back burner. Sometimes my subconscious goes to work and an idea, or often in my case, a memory, will surface when I interact with the outside world. An example was hearing the sound of someone racking pool balls reminded me of an undercover situation I was in where I witnessed a person bludgeoned to death near a pool table. Seconds after the body was hauled out into a back alley, another person who had witnessed the murder nonchalantly racked up the balls as if nothing had happened. I describe this situation in my second novel, Above Ground. Other examples are the sight of a pencil reminds me of a broken pencil protruding from a man’s esophagus (Above Ground). Seeing an Asian massage parlor reminded me of what I wrote about in Angel in the Full Moon. The sight of a homeless person reminds me of a proposition/test a member of an organized crime family told me about when I was undercover as described in Samurai Code.
It may sound odd to even think I could forget such incidents, but I have led an unusual life and I think the brain intentionally forgets unpleasant experiences. It is often a sound, smell or perhaps the sight of a young child or some other everyday occurrence that wakes the past from its sleep.
A more common method for me is to relax and put my writer's block on the back burner. Sometimes my subconscious goes to work and an idea, or often in my case, a memory, will surface when I interact with the outside world. An example was hearing the sound of someone racking pool balls reminded me of an undercover situation I was in where I witnessed a person bludgeoned to death near a pool table. Seconds after the body was hauled out into a back alley, another person who had witnessed the murder nonchalantly racked up the balls as if nothing had happened. I describe this situation in my second novel, Above Ground. Other examples are the sight of a pencil reminds me of a broken pencil protruding from a man’s esophagus (Above Ground). Seeing an Asian massage parlor reminded me of what I wrote about in Angel in the Full Moon. The sight of a homeless person reminds me of a proposition/test a member of an organized crime family told me about when I was undercover as described in Samurai Code.
It may sound odd to even think I could forget such incidents, but I have led an unusual life and I think the brain intentionally forgets unpleasant experiences. It is often a sound, smell or perhaps the sight of a young child or some other everyday occurrence that wakes the past from its sleep.
Don Easton
Like the protagonist (Jack Taggart) in my novel, I worked as an undercover RCMP operative over a span of twenty years, including seven years with an RCMP Intelligence Unit specializing on organized crime. The driving force that compelled me to start writing was a combination of self-vindication, catharsis and a desire to educate the general public. Like the protagonist in my novels, I have often had to wrestle with my conscience over the actions I took and live with the sometimes-unexpected consequence of my actions. As an undercover operative I discovered, as I hope my readers do, that we do not live in a world of black and white. It is my intention to make people better informed of the world around them, cause them to question their own moral conscience and promote a better understanding of people who are often less fortunate.
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