This week I would like to introduce adventure author and my guest blogger, Lawrence Shimkets. I know you will enjoy his post, and I highly recommend his novel, Malice in the Palace.

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I would like to thank Robin for giving me this opportunity to tell you about my unusual career path as a novelist. I began my first career as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the University of Georgia and won a prestigious award from U. S. President Ronald Reagan in 1984. I’ve had a 35-year career with international acclaim and fellowship in two prestigious scientific societies. I (semi)-retired in 2017, though I can’t seem to let go of my science fix entirely. So why would someone abandon a successful career as a research scientist and teacher for a second career as an unknown and fledgling fiction writer? In my case, there are two reasons. First, going back to my teenage years, I wanted to write fiction. In my youth, I went to the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh every Saturday to check out books. Reading was a lifelong gift from my dear Mother. Today I read a lot and at the end of a book often say to myself, ‘I can do that even better’, with perfect (and sometimes misplaced) confidence. So, I stepped outside the ‘box’ of scientific academics to challenge myself to write fiction. I like thrillers and, inspired by David Baldacci’s Camel Club series, decided to try my hand at something similar. Beyond the challenge of creating something uniquely yours, I love those books that end with me wanting more from certain characters knowing I will never read about those characters again. Sweet sadness. My goal was to create characters who others feel the same about. With Malice in the Palace, I believe I have created compelling characters who bare their vices and virtues. Readers have asked for a sequel, and there will be at least two.

The second reason for my career shift is that I wanted to support causes in a way I never could as an academic. I love the sentence in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” I feel passionate about social justice and wanted to champion people whose voices are ignored. Like most writers, I was strongly influenced by personal circumstances. Diane and I adopted two beautiful children from New Mexico who are predominately Native American. This pointed me in the direction of modern western themes. In addition, in my role as mentor and teacher, I was disappointed to see that women of extraordinary talent have glass ceilings, which are higher than those of comparably talented men. I wanted to develop an enviable female character who would gracefully showcase ingenuity and accomplishment. I received daily inspiration from five sisters, five sister-in-laws, mother and mother-in-law, wife, and daughter. At the same time, I understood that most men can’t write remarkable female characters. Though I fall short of the way Shakespeare’s Juliet pushed past social norms or Henrik Ibsen’s Nora discarded her ‘dollhouses’, I do hope that my female readers will be inspired to push through their personal glass ceilings.

I began working on Malice in the Palace in my spare time about 6 years ago, but I did not have much time to spend on it. I began by inventing characters on a dusty ranch just north of the Mexican border in my head as I fell asleep or on the drive to work (not both at the same time, fortunately). I found it rewarding to develop my imagination in a different way than a scientist, though it was a lengthy process for me that crystallized in fits and starts. Another roadblock was writing dialog-driven prose, which is entirely foreign to a narrative-driven science writer. It took me years to develop unique voices for the different characters and to embed them into a compelling, 21st-century plot. In 2017, serendipity played a role in the final development of Malice in the Palace as you might be able to tell from the title. Trump became president and I leveraged his regrettable words against women and military heroes, his desire to end health care for those with the greatest need, and his disdain for refugees, immigrants, and minorities. I was pleased to publish ‘Malice in the Palace’ on Martin Luther King Day in January 2018 with Outskirts Press.

Many people have offered praise for the fast-paced plot either personally or on websites such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, or Facebook where it is averaging close to 5 stars. I invite you to evaluate it and offer your perspective, which can only help me become a more compelling author. If you want to offer comments or criticism, let me suggest two venues. First, my Goodreads author page has a Malice in the Palace discussion section and I welcome you to be the first to post there. Second, I started a Facebook author page https://www.facebook.com/myberthonearth/. I welcome you to post there.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.