Travel with Walter W. Luce on his tales

 

Walter W. Luce was born in Vermont where he still spends his summers.  He has been a successful real estate developer in Florida, Georgia, and California.  He lives in the Palm Springs, California area with his wife Bonnie, where he wrote his first novel of five, Eva Pennington.

          He is the oldest of seven. He graduated from Braintree Randolph Union High School in 1962, and attended Miami Dade Junior college after being honorably discharged from the Army in 1967. 

His hobbies are writing, running and golf.

 

Could you please start by telling us a little about yourself?

I was born in Vermont where I still spend my summers.  I’ve been a successful real estate developer in Florida, Georgia, and California.  I now live in the Palm Springs, California area with my wife Bonnie, where I wrote my first novel of five, Eva Pennington.

          I am the oldest of seven. I graduated from Braintree Randolph Union High School in 1962, and attended Miami Dade Junior college after being honorably discharged from the Army in 1967. 

Please tell us your latest news!

My novel Vermont Bound the third in the Donatelli series was just published by Oak Tree Press and it’s doing very well.  Eva Pennington—Trouble in Georgia is also published.   Next up will be Miami Exit, and Vermont Bond. My latest work is another Eva Pennington novel, Eva Pennington—Damsels of Diversion. 

Please describe your writing environment.

We own a cabin (Camp Cupcake) in the foothills of the Vermont National Forest and I have a writers loft on the second floor. In the desert I write from my in-house real estate development office.

 

How much research do you do for your books? Have you found any cool tidbits in your research?

I do some research.  I find that in the advent of the computer, research is made easier. 

 

How does your family feel about having a writer in the family? Do they read your books?

They’re amazed…as I am.  Most of them read my work.

What are your hobbies?

Golf and periodic running.  

If you had to choose one person to have dinner with, who would it be? And why?

A dead person would be Samuel Clemens…In my opinion he’s one of the greatest writers that ever lived. Today, would be Steve Forbes…I’m in favor of a flat tax.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

I’ve just reread Vermont Bound for the umpteenth time and I wouldn’t change a thing. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be improved upon, your work is never complete.  Read something you wrote a year ago and see if you don’t just choke.  You have to draw the line. 

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

My wife at the time taught college journalism and was a MENSA member.  In the ‘70s she forced me to go to one of their meetings. After three meetings I was determined to do what they were talking about doing…write a book.  Thirty years later I wrote my first novel for all the wrong reasons—not being an educated man I thought if I wrote a book people would think I was smart.  By the way none of them ever wrote that book they talked about and writing a book didn’t make me any smarter.

Do you write full time? What did you do before you became a writer? Or still do?

I don’t profess to be a writer it just happened.  I’m a real estate developer who buys dirt and builds buildings.  I still do both.

What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?

I start with an idea and just let the characters take me for a ride.  It’s easier now that publishers and the public like shorter novels.  I love the ride. 

Do you have a ritual when it comes to writing? Example….get coffee, blanket, paper, pen and a comfy place

Between five and six AM I secure my first of four cups of coffee, read the Wall Street Journal, check my emails, work on my real estate deals, reread what I wrote the day before and then write anywhere from 1,500 to 2,500 words.  

Current Release Details:

Vermont  Bound was just released. Eva Pennington—Trouble in Georgia is being released, followed by Miami Exit and Atlanta Exit.  Eva Pennington was released on Kindle in Sept 2010 and now is available in print.

If you could be one of your characters - Who would you be? And why?

This might seem odd, but though I’m a man, I would like to be Eva Pennington.  She’s a ballsy lady in the 60s’ who doesn’t take any shit from men.  I’ve lived the Donatelli character. 

What do you do on a typical writing day?

Work on business deals for few hours in the morning, write until mid-day, and go for a run if I’m not playing golf.  In the afternoon I catch up on the news, check my emails and read. 

Can you please give us a sneak peek at any of your upcoming books?

Atlanta Exit

Turk Donatelli, a self-made millionaire at the age of twenty four. Turk grew up poor in a small Vermont lumber town, the oldest of eight. As Turk, whose thirst for knowledge was insatiable, grew into a teenager and then a man, he struggles to become respected, and respectable. 

          In 1970 Turk Donatelli left the mob controlled city of Miami. Turk along with his close friend, China Jon and Digger his Navy Seal protector, follow a fast paced adventure through Ocala, Florida and the European continent before arriving in Atlanta.  Here he crosses the line when he builds adult bookstores for Nikolas J. Pappas, known as the "Porno-King of the Southeast,” and who is currently facing a charge of murder of a competitor. Turk thought money would cure his angst, as he lives a life he always dreamed about. Instead, it made him feel empty and unfulfilled.

Seeking to tame his wild desires…women, drinking, and gambling, Turk, marries a brilliant journalist, who has a five year old son. Their seemly idyllic marriage is far from ideal when his wife is diagnosed with progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Turk is determined to find a cure and raise his adopted son. When Niko is sent to prison Turk is pressured by the FBI to leave his employ; however he is forced to continue the partnership with Niko in order to fund his search for a cure for MS, preserve his banking ties, and to afford his lifestyle that has been so important to him…will Turk cross that line a final time?

Who is your perfect hero? And why?

My hero would be Ronald Reagan—a great communicator, a great husband and just a damn nice guy who did a lot for this country.  Visit his library…you’ll come out feeling that maybe America can regain her respect if only we could find another commander and chief like him. 

When you have writer's block how do you break free?

I’ve been fortunate I haven’t experienced the dreaded block yet.  I always have at least a couple of books in the works I can switch back and forth.  I read the same way.  I usually have three books going at the same time.

 

What would be the best way for readers contact you? Do you have a website? Email address? MySpace site? Blog? Message Board? Group? How can readers find out more about you and your books?

Visit my website www.walterluce.com or contact me at walterluce1345@yahoo.com

What is the best and worst advice you have ever received?

The best advice was to just write don’t worry about what you write just write. The worst advice I ever got was to, trust your banker.

 

What's your favorite genre to read?

I prefer biographies and classics.

What type of book have you always wanted to write?

I’d love to and will write a book modifying our political system. 

When did you first decide to submit your work? Please, tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step.

When the real estate industry fell apart in 2006 my wife Bonnie said to me, “Stop your complaining about having nothing to do, and dust off that novel you wrote thirty years ago, and work on getting it published.”

What was your first published work and when was it published?

Eva Marie Pennington published on Kindle through Oak Tree Publishing in August 2010.

Is there anyone who really mentored or inspired you to keep writing until you were finally published?

I write not to get published…I write because I can’t stop writing.  If I was never published I would still write…its therapy.

 

Turk Donatelli, a poor, but ambitious boy from Vermont, jumped into the real estate development game in the Southeast. He made millions while still in his 20s—but not without some brushes with the Miami Beach Mob.

Turk tried walking away from it all, but his dwindling bank balance pulls him back into the high stakes — high risk world when mob-connected Niko Pappas recruits him for his Atlanta-area construction projects.

Soon Turk is caught in a triple bind, Can he walk the razor’s edge? Or is the FBI’s Witness Protection Program the next stop?

 Oak Tree Press / Amazon