I want to make you see the world through the eyes of my characters, if only for a moment. At eleven I started writing fanciful stories, centered on my friends. I guess I still do that. Three writers have left an indelible stamp on me: Anton Chekov, Winston Graham (Poldark Saga) and Laura Lippman. Those are the master story tellers that I try to imitate like a 12-year-old in Little League does Cal Ripken. I grew up in Baltimore. Now I make my home in South Carolina, but the charms and faults of Baltimore are still a big part of who I am.
For twenty years I made my living as a cost analy more...