H. L. Wegley Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.

A:  My wife and I were raised in the same neighborhood in rural Southern Oregon. We married a few days after we both turned twenty, then she followed me around the U.S. while I served in the USAF. After the military, I worked as a research scientist at a national lab, then developed computing systems for Boeing until retiring a few years ago. We are both involved in our grandkids lives, small-group ministry through our church, and we love hiking the beaches of the Olympic National Park, where I can never resist shooting sunset pictures … usually forty or fifty. My record for a single sunset is 101.

Q: What started you on your writing journey?

A:  Writing has always come easy for me, but what led to my first attempt at a novel was a project my kids urged me to take on, a book containing my childhood adventure stories. I wrote Colby and Me: Growing up in the ‘50s, but never marketed it, just gave copies to friends and family. But the project was so much fun that I decided to tackle my first novel. After a few rewrites, it won a book contract.

Q: What distracts you from writing the easiest?

A:  That would be my wife’s voice. After fifty years, the sound of that voice can cut through all thought—thoughts of fantastic plots, witty dialogue, action-packed scenes, anything to do with writing—and cause my brain to reboot from ROM dumping the contents of my RAM. For those unfamiliar with computer operating systems, that means every thought is lost, and I have to reload my brain, starting with whatever scraps of information I can recall from the instant before her voice blew it all away. I am thankful she understands the power she has to discombobulate and that she is very considerate.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release, Chasing Freedom?

A:  Chasing Freedom is an action-packed, romantic suspense story, the prequel for my award-winning Against All Enemies series. Though intended to be read last, if the reader skips the prologue and epilogue, the story is completely stand-alone. It tells about a disgraced, but wrongly accused, Olympic decathlete who uses his incredible athletic abilities to save an international college student from a drug cartel that has targeted her family for opposing the cartel. Chasing Freedom recently took second place in the Inspirational Fiction genre of the IDA 2017 awards, sponsored by RWA.

Q: Where did the idea for this story come from?

A:  Chasing Freedom is my NaNoWriMo story from five years ago. After writing it, I set the story aside and wrote the Against All Enemies series which used Chasing Freedom’s main characters in a supporting role. That gave me the idea of writing a prologue and epilogue to splice this story into the series. Also, I had wanted to set a novel in the mountains where my best buddy and I roamed as kids, along the Oregon-California border. Those mountains provided a wonderful setting for the story. Knowing that drug cartels used these mountains for growing marijuana, gave me ideas for the plot.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A:  I am putting the final polish on a high-action, romantic suspense story titled, Virtuality. It tells the story of a young author who, when his larger-than-life, older brother dies, inherits his brother’s high-tech company, including its break-through, virtual-reality technology. The technology can make my hero the next Bill Gates but, applied wrongly, can shred the very fabric of American society. Pitching this story has generated a lot of interest and I’m anxiously waiting to see where this leads.

Q: What kind of books do you enjoy reading?

A:  After being raised on Edgar Rice Burroughs and Zane Grey, I enjoy action and adventure with a little romance thrown in, like Zane Grey did. I’m not quite sure what one should call that relationship between Tarzan and Jane. Regardless, it was a lot of fun to read about. Right now, I’m reading a fun series by Vikki Kestell, the Nanostealth Series. It’s science fiction that’s perhaps more science than fiction. But it has some action, interesting characters, and a light romance thread. Since it involves nanotechnology, my grandson wants to read the series, so he’s getting it for Christmas.

Q: What is your favorite food?

A:  Coffee. And, don’t say it’s not food. It’s full of antioxidants. Besides, the way I drink it, it sticks with you long after the caffeine wears off—way longer than I want it to. That probably comes from those two generous pumps of vanilla bean syrup.

Q: What makes you smile and/or laugh out loud?

A:  A clever pun. They say a pun is the lowest form of humor. But, since Shakespeare couldn’t seem to resist them, I don’t feel badly about enjoying or employing them. Don’t be surprised if you see my stories doling out a little pun-ishment.

Q: If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

A:  A dog. Not a little yapper, but a big dog—noble, faithful, protective—like my alma mater’s mascot, Reveille. You’ve probably guessed, by now, that I’m a Texas Aggie.