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Dave Gehrke

Goodreads Author

Born

Sleepy Eye, MN

Website

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dave-Gehrke/autho...

Genre

Mystery, Thriller, Historical Fiction

Member Since

March 2013

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I grew up "reading" comic books in my uncle’s toy and hobby store. I hadn't started school yet so I just stared at the pictures and tried to figure out what the words might meant. I think the first word I learned might have been “Pow!”. “The” came next. And from there I slipped my way into literacy. My uncle, when he grew tired of me being in the way of paying customers, started sending me home with a comic, purportedly so my parents could read them to me. Fortunately both my parents were prodigious readers themselves and soon had me reading to them.

I gained two skills from those early days; how to manipulate my uncle into sending me home with new reading material and how to read at an early age.

Reading itself opened up a whole new world fo I grew up "reading" comic books in my uncle’s toy and hobby store. I hadn't started school yet so I just stared at the pictures and tried to figure out what the words might meant. I think the first word I learned might have been “Pow!”. “The” came next. And from there I slipped my way into literacy. My uncle, when he grew tired of me being in the way of paying customers, started sending me home with a comic, purportedly so my parents could read them to me. Fortunately both my parents were prodigious readers themselves and soon had me reading to them.

I gained two skills from those early days; how to manipulate my uncle into sending me home with new reading material and how to read at an early age.

Reading itself opened up a whole new world for me; a world of knowledge, fascination, entertainment and imagination. And that world lay just across the alley from our home at the Dyckman Free Library. The comic books were soon replaced by works of fiction and my vocabulary grew accordingly. By the time I reached the second grade my uncle had christened me “Professor” and before I reached the eighth grade I’d proven to Mrs. Dombrowski, the librarian, that had I was ready to graduate from the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and move into the adult fiction section.

By high school my standard explanation to any teacher wondering how I happened to know something esoteric or arcane was “I read that somewhere.” Which usually also brought a groan from my fellow classmates.

Writing, it seems to me, is the next step up in the reading chain. And when I discovered I could wow both my classmates and my instructors with my completed writing assignments, I decided at sixteen that I would someday become a writer of books.

That was before life got in the way; college (I’ve earned three degrees), marriage, kids, various business pursuits, teaching, coaching, school administration and half a dozen hobbies. But I never lost the desire to become a novelist. So I studied people (future characters); their mannerisms, how they spoke, the way they conversed, what motivated them, how they reacted in various situations, how they expressed their hopes and their dreams, the way one wrinkled her nose when she laughed, the way another tended to begin the answer to any question with “basically”.
And I gathered reams of notes; character descriptions, possible storylines, potential plots, locations, time periods, etc. And I continued to read, sometimes for entertainment and sometimes to study the different techniques used by my favorite authors in crafting their books.

Then, when my kids were off having kids of their own and I retired to my own semi-isolated place in the countryside, I focused on what I felt had always been my "true" calling; writing.

Life, as they say, goes full circle. It's just that some circles have larger diameters.
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Combine Editions
Dave Gehrke’s books

Average rating: 3.97 · 77 ratings · 24 reviews · 15 distinct works

	Brogan's Island 4.27 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lock And The Damned (Seamus Taggert, #1) 3.71 avg rating — 14 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Deadly Forever 4.33 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2017 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Goodbye Ginny Madison 3.13 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Don't Shoot My Angel (Seamus Taggert, #2) 3.80 avg rating — 5 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Shiver Runs Through It it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2009 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Silently Forever (O'Shaughnessy Saga #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Naughty Librarian 2.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wastelander it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2022	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pigeon Racing Analytics: Winning With Data 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Dave Gehrke's Blog

Dino Poop

I have on occasion been accused of being full of “it”… you know, the odiferous brown stuff that clings to the heels of your hiking boots after attempting to do in the woods what bears customarily do with aplomb.

Not that I ever took the naysayers at their word because its a little known fact that my fecal matter renders no olfactory sensation. Don’t ask me how I know that. “Just trust me,” I advis Read more of this blog post »

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Published on September 03, 2024 17:25

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Dave’s Recent Updates

Dave Gehrke answered Goodreads's question: How do you get inspired to write? This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)
Jan 02, 2025 08:45AM · like
Dave Gehrke answered Goodreads's question: What’s your advice for aspiring writers? Don't let your "real" life sidetrack you. Find the time to write something, anything, every day. A few sentences is better than nothing. Writing is like a sharp knife, it requires constant honing.
Jan 02, 2025 08:23AM · like

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Crime, Mysteries ...: Blogs: Do You Read or Write Blogs	100	207	Sep 17, 2013 07:28PM
New Voices Good S...: Tell us about your latest book.	203	93	Apr 29, 2014 07:46AM
New Voices Good S...: Do Your Characters Stink?	10	22	Dec 04, 2014 01:08PM