If you write haiku regularly, you observe nature and beauty. And you also learn the economical use of words. You can write a haiku when you’re out walking your pet, or communing with nature. Haiku is a great exercise to be more aware and become a better writer. Here are some of my haiku.

mountain brook gurgles
under a ceiling of pines
Yosemite high

rainy afternoon
chasing clouds and sand hill cranes
old friends who’ve just met

Another bit of wisdom I take from Hemingway’s advice is to write about places you know. I live on the west coast of Florida. The books I write are set in the Sarasota area. My first book, The Myakka Murders was set in Myakka River State Park, a place I’ve visited hundreds of times. My second book, Sarasota Sour Grapes takes place in Fruitville, which is on the outskirts of Sarasota. The opening scene for Overexposed on Bird Key takes place on Bird Key. The stories wind their way through downtown Sarasota and nearby locales. Yale Larsson and his half-brother Jayson live in a beach house on Longboat Key.

To find out more about my Yale Larsson books, scan the following QR  code with your  cell phone.

The West Coast of Florida is a wonderful place to live and write about. Here are some pictures from the area.

Sarasota Bay

Sarasota curing a thunder storm.

Myakka State Park

James W. Hall creates compelling stories about a loner named Thorn. For Thorn trouble seems to crop up at any moment. But he always finds a way out of the fix.

Robert Crais writes compelling stories about a private investigator named Elvis Cole. Cole had a sidekick named Joe Pike. Talk about your yin/yang characters. Crais writes stories that grab you by the throat in the first chapter and have enough twists and turns to keep you turning the pages.

Lee Child writes about another larger than like character, Reacher. Reacher’s ex-military and a drifter. Reacher sees something wrong when he arrives in a new place and does his best to make it right.

Elmore Leonard was at a book signing. A man walked up to him with one of Elmore’s books. Elmore said, “Who to I make it out to?” The man said, “Chili Palmer.” Elmore asked him if he could use the name. The man told him he could. It became a character in Elmore’s “Get Shorty.”

In addition to being a good listener, you need to retain the information. I always carry a small notebook with me. of course you could dictate the information into your phone. But hey, I’m an analog guy in a digital world.

Click the book covers to learn more about my Yale Larsson PI series.

Backstory: An innocent man has been arrested. Yale Larsson, my protagonist won’t rest until he’s set free.

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Picked up my cell phone. Called the hospital. Spoke to Evans and told him what we’d discovered. He told me he’d make it happen. I thanked him and disconnected the call.

“Major Evans will grease the wheels. Good work, Janet. Thank you. Can you stay for dinner?”
“I’d love to Studly, but I have a date. How are things progressing with your social media page?”
“May have another fish on the line. Lady who wants to paint me.
“Reel her in.” She fist bumped me and found her way out.

Walked into the kitchen. As usual, Jayson was cooking. Smelled wonderful. He put something in the oven, poured two iced teas and sat at the dining room table. I joined him.

Jayson sipped his tea. “Productive day?”
“Major Evans, my old nemesis, greased the wheels. Janet Brown broke into Demetrius Robinson’s house.”
“Exigent circumstances?”
“Yup.”
“And?
“Found a Glock with two rounds missing. She’ll run it through ballistics in the morning. Also found a diary. Robinson put his girlfriend and her daughter through hell.”
“And if the ballistics match, Roscoe Love will be a free man.”
“Yup.” Sipped my tea. “Anything else from our social media pages?”
“Yup. You have a meeting at the Big Chill after school lets out tomorrow.”
“Great.”

To learn more about Yale’s previous capers, scan the following QR code with your phone.