Writing Under Fire

“When a 21^st Century man takes his family camping in the Everglades he is forced to face 16^th Century evil and his own lack of morality.”

Author’s Name:  DL Havlin   (Dennis Lee)

Professional Background – world-wide divisional customer service director, production manager, materials manager, MIS director, systems analyst/procedure writer, product line manager, multi-plant manufacturing manager, general manager for a chemicals distributor, call center service tech rep, president and general manager of a manufacturing company, newspaper sports reporter.

Life Experiences – high school football coach, licensed boat captain, extensive world travels, fishing guide, avid fisherman, hunter and camper, amateur historian studying early Florida, Civil War and World War II, former regional director for the Florida Writers Association, have been writing 32 years.

Educational Background:  Elementary school – Ft. Myers, FL  / High school – Cincinnati, OH College – University of Cincinnati, BBA  / College – Rollins College, master’s work

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Published works – Novels – The Hangin’Oak/ September on Echo Creek/ A place No One Should Go/ Blue Water, Red Blood/ The Cross on Cotton Creek/ Bully Route Home/ The Bait Man/ Escaping Skeletons/ Turtle Point/ Out of Italy/ + others…

Writing Under Fire is excited to have a dear Florida Author friend with us today, DL Havlin.

Joanne:  DL currently lives in Bokeela, Florida, an island west of Fort Myers. I’ve been friends with DL since we worked together on a Southwest Florida Conference pre-Covid. As a multi-published author, I’d like to talk to you about one of the first pieces of advice I heard you say to new writers. That is, about starting with non-fiction.  Can you expand on that a little for our readers?

DL: It’s all about exposure and getting your name out there. If you research the market that supports your passion, as an example: the research and volunteer work I did for Randall Research, an important archaeological site in Florida, gave me the opportunity to talk to organizations interested in archeology, which I first used as non-fiction articles and later merged into my mystery novel, A Place No One Should Go.

Joanne: That makes sense. As a woman that writes women’s fiction, particularly mother/daughter stories, something like parents’ groups might be a good place for me to start. Speaking to large groups is easy for me, but that is not so for a lot of writers. In fact, there are probably more introvert writers and extrovert. They’d rather sit alone in their homes and write.

DL: Wouldn’t we all? However, even a traditional publisher expects you to market your book yourself, and that really mean marketing yourself. If you really want to sell books, you need to get out there. Writers could start with small local groups, even book clubs. Word travels fast if they enjoyed having you. My main source of marketing is speaking to groups, at personal events and on the internet.

Joanne: Thanks DL. Can you tell us what you like best about writing or being an author? And reversely, what you like least.

DL: What I Iike best is the ability to help and inform others. And to make an impact on their attitudes. Even my fiction will teach you something you may not already know and perhaps make a shift to a more positive attitude toward life. Least? I don’t really have one, except maybe the time delay working with publishers. It takes a long time, sometimes years to actually see your book in print.

Joanne: The book cover for A Place No One Should Go is kind of scary. I guess that was the point. Do you have much opportunity for input on your covers? I ask because I have heard that a lot of traditional publishers give little or no weight to the author’s ideas. Some even change the title.

DL: I have been very fortunate to have extensive input with the current publisher. It is true that the larger the publishing house, the less input is accepted by the author. They have a whole team that looks for what they believe will make the biggest impact. It’s true: You can judge a book by its cover.

Joanne: Thank you so much for spending time with my readers. Where can they buy your books?

DL:

www.dlhavlin.com

       www.amazon.com/author/havlin

 

I am bringing back the Author Interview section to Writing Under Fire. Each post will feature a different author. We’ll mix it up with authors from lots of different genres, and give you a tease into the book he/she is featuring as well as buy links to purchase that book or others on their websites. Please send a message back and let me know if you are enjoying this section

Watch for the first interview in a few days. They will include photos of the book they are promoting, a blurb about their book, an author photo, and of course, the interview itself. Hope you enjoy.

https://www.freeaudiobookpromocodes.com/town-without-mercy.html

This is my first trip overseas and I am blown away. So much is different, yet in other ways it is the same. Language of course can be a barrier, but almost everyone we talked to could speak English. I’m sad to say I could not reciprocate.

The little beach town on Helsingør in Sweden is just adorable. Reminds me a lot of St. Augustine in Florida.

The rural countryside of Sweden looks exactly like western PA or eastern Ohio. No wonder our ancestors migrated to there.

The oddest thing is the 25 year lease on graves. If no one renews the lease, the graves are dug up and the bodies cremated and spread in the “memory garden” of the cemetery. The stones are lined up against the stone walls until they run out of room. Then they destroy them. So in every really old section, there are new graves or wide green spaces waiting for new “tenants.” How very strange to us. We were so glad some of our were still there. Perhaps a distant relative is renewing the lease.

Do you live someplace that has different customs for burials than the USA, which treasures old grave sites forever. I’d love to hear about it.