Since I retired back in 1999, I have taken up a new career as a writer. I am not getting paid to write, and to date I have not earned much money on my writing so I ask myself, why do it?

Pat Alvarado, an author friend of mine whose works appear in here in authorsden, says, “I ink, therefore I ham. That is one way of putting it. Certainly one has to think to be able to write. I realize writing is a talent, but I view it more as a craft that has to be learned. I find that writing is hard work, but at the same time I derive immense satisfaction when I finish a story or a book, knowing I have given it the best I have in me.

They say you should write about what you know. I do just that. I have lived over 30 years in the Republic of Panama. I worked for the Panama Canal Company and learned much about the operation of the Canal. I also learned much about Panama's culture, its enormous biodiversity, its diverse population, and the many wondrous sights it has to offer.

Drawing on all this experience, I crafted my first novel, The Sage, about adventurers hunting for Spanish treasure along the Las Cruces Trail, the route used by Spaniards to transport from Peru across the Isthmus to their galleons waiting on the Caribbean side. Finding the treasure is easy, keeping it is the problem and they face the dilemma of how far they must go to protect their find. My second novel, Belen Demise, is a sequel to The Sage, and again the adventurers' lust for gold leads to unpleasant consequences. My third book, PRAT, is a complete departure from my first two. I used my theater experience to write a satire about the production of a play from its inception, through rehearsals and culminating in the production run. The backstage antics of the cast and crew are an essential part of this humorous look at community theater.

Lately, I have tried my hand a short stories using Panama as a common thread. I hope to publish a collection of these stories soon.

So why do I write? I write because I enjoy it. I hope all you writers out there feel the same way.