Ask the Author: David E. Grogan
Answered Questions (11)
David E. Grogan
Veterans have been my heroes since I was a boy growing up just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. In fact, my dad was an Air Force pilot and my uncle a Navy sailor. Given that, interviewing veterans and publishing their stories through my Voices to Veterans blog seemed like a natural outgrowth from my fiction writing. Although that was a good first step, I wanted to make sure the stories are permanently preserved and presented in a way that will be meaningful to people. That’s when I came up with the idea for Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die.
David E. Grogan
Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die helps people navigate life’s challenges using the lives of twenty-six veterans to reveal important lessons about character and humanity. Each of the book’s fourteen substantive chapters begins with an interlude that discusses an important life lesson such as, “If you don’t see a path, blaze a trail,” or “Don’t accept adversity, challenge it.” The chapter then includes one or more veterans’ life stories to illustrate the lesson. These captivating stories about everyday American military heroes and the lessons we can learn from their lives provide the inspiration we need to make us, our relationships, and our communities stronger.
David E. Grogan
• The Siegel Dispositions begins in 1998 with Steve Stilwell having just retired from the Navy. Believing he will have a relaxing second career, he joins a small trusts and estates law practice in Williamsburg, Virginia. Soon after he arrives at his office, a client he has written a will for is murdered. Steve finds himself in a race to save the lives of his client’s beneficiaries. The Siegel Dispositions emphasizes the importance of human rights in a world marred by hate and bigotry that goes back to WWII.
• Sapphire Pavilion takes place in the year 2000. An old Navy friend of Steve Stilwell’s finds the wreckage of a plane lost during the Vietnam War and is jailed in Vietnam on trumped up drug charges. Steve is hired to represent his friend. He’s joined by Casey Pantel, a Wounded Warrior turned attorney. Their quest to free their client takes them to Vietnam where powerful forces seek to block their every move. Sapphire Pavilion reminds Steve that every decision has a cost and that sometimes that cost is pain and suffering.
• The Hidden Key continues in 2004 with Steve Stilwell watching helplessly as a wealthy new client dies in front of his eyes at a London restaurant. When he returns to the United States to probate his deceased client’s estate, he comes into possession of an ancient artifact that the FBI wants and others will kill for. Steve, and his law partner, Casey Pantel, follow leads to Italy and India to uncover why their client died. They must decipher the meaning and value of the artifact before they, too, fall victim to its secrets. The Hidden Key compels Steve to look in the mirror. He will be forced to assess his life after he puts himself and those around him in danger in the name of zealously representing the interests of his dead client.
• Sapphire Pavilion takes place in the year 2000. An old Navy friend of Steve Stilwell’s finds the wreckage of a plane lost during the Vietnam War and is jailed in Vietnam on trumped up drug charges. Steve is hired to represent his friend. He’s joined by Casey Pantel, a Wounded Warrior turned attorney. Their quest to free their client takes them to Vietnam where powerful forces seek to block their every move. Sapphire Pavilion reminds Steve that every decision has a cost and that sometimes that cost is pain and suffering.
• The Hidden Key continues in 2004 with Steve Stilwell watching helplessly as a wealthy new client dies in front of his eyes at a London restaurant. When he returns to the United States to probate his deceased client’s estate, he comes into possession of an ancient artifact that the FBI wants and others will kill for. Steve, and his law partner, Casey Pantel, follow leads to Italy and India to uncover why their client died. They must decipher the meaning and value of the artifact before they, too, fall victim to its secrets. The Hidden Key compels Steve to look in the mirror. He will be forced to assess his life after he puts himself and those around him in danger in the name of zealously representing the interests of his dead client.
David E. Grogan
Two thugs steal a mysterious clay tablet from a Navy sailor who smuggled it out of Iraq and murder him. One week later, attorney Steve Stilwell watches helplessly as a wealthy new client dies in front of his eyes at a London restaurant. When he returns to the United States to probate his deceased client’s estate, he comes into possession of an ancient artifact the FBI wants and others will kill for. Steve, and his law partner, Casey Pantel, follow leads to Italy and India to figure out why their client died and decipher the meaning and value of the artifact. What they discover puts their lives in danger.
David E. Grogan
Ancient artifacts have always intrigued me. Each one has a story just waiting to be unlocked, and people want to know what those stories are. Throngs of people flow through museums to look at objects from the past, or visit ancient Greece and Rome each year. Some are so captivated that they have to possess what they see, even if it means stealing or entering the black market to do so. In fact, both the New York Times and Washington Post have recent articles about wealthy people getting caught up in smuggling ancient artifacts, hoping to exploit for themselves the secrets they hold. The Hidden Key explores the magnetic pull ancient artifacts have over all of us, drawing us closer to them even as we try to resist.
David E. Grogan
Normally I'd be out doing book signings nearly every weekend and focusing on other publicity efforts for The Hidden Key, which was just released by Camel Press on April 14th, 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has squelched those efforts at least for now, so I'm working hard to get the word out about the book online. I'm also continuing to write my monthly feature, Voices To Veterans, where I interview a veteran and spotlight their story to honor their service. You can read the veterans' stories on my Goodreads author page, or see them on my website at https://davidegrogan.com/category/voi.... Finally, I'm mulling around some concepts for book #4 in the Steve Stilwell thriller series and getting ready to start some preliminary research. The topic is both current and controversial, but I believe it will be worth the effort if I can pull it off. I'll be sure to keep you updated on its progress.
David E. Grogan
My most recent book, The Hidden Key, was released by Camel Press on April 14th, 2020. It was a long time coming. I actually came up with the idea for The Hidden Key after hearing about Dan Brown's book, The Da Vinci Code. Since I love history, I was intrigued by the idea of writing a story that involved ancient relics. Thinking about it further, I'm sure Raiders of the Lost Ark also had something to do with it, as I thought that was an incredibly creative way to weave a story around ancient artifacts. The problem was, I wasn't ready to write the story yet. I was still refining the manuscript for my first book, The Siegel Dispositions, so I didn't have the characters or the writing skills necessary to put The Hidden Key together. I was also on active duty in the Navy and had some of the most challenging assignments of my career ahead of me, so I had to put the project on the back burner. Finally, in 2016, after I'd completed the manuscript for my second book, Sapphire Pavilion, I was ready. It took me two years to write The Hidden Key and another year for it to roll off the presses, but it is finally here. And, to celebrate, I read The Da Vinci Code, which I had avoided for all of these years so as not to be overly influenced by Dan Brown's story. I have to say, I really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code.
David E. Grogan
Blog and start building an audience. The beauty of a blog is that you get to practice writing and you get immediate feedback from your readers. A blog also helps you stay relevant and in touch with your readers. To me, it's the interaction with readers that makes the writing process worthwhile, and blogging facilitates the interaction while allowing you to write about something you are passionate about.
David E. Grogan
Getting to meet and talk to people at book signings and speaking engagements. I love talking to readers about what they like to read, and I also like to get their feedback on my books because it helps shape my thinking for future projects.
David E. Grogan
Whenever I'm driving between cities, I turn off the car radio and just think. In fact, whenever I got bogged down writing my latest book, The Hidden Key, I'd use my frequent trips between Champaign, Illinois, and Chicago, to think through the next scenes. So that I would not forget what I'd come up with, I'd either stop at a rest area and dictate an outline of the way forward into my phone, or at home that night I'd type out an outline of my thoughts from the trip.
David E. Grogan
I usually look to history for inspiration - honorable people doing honorable things. I use the thriller genre to focus attention on character, courage and commitment.
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