Questions I'm often asked:

Q: Are you like Cecil Younger?
  A: No. Cecil is two years older and a little taller.
   
Q: How did you first get published?
  A: I had written two full length manuscripts and sent them around without success. I decided to try and write one last book. One I could be proud of no matter what the publishers thought. I spent seven years working on THE WOMAN WHO MARRIED A BEAR, while I worked as an investigator all over Alaska. I sent it to two agents, who declined to represent it. Then I heard from my friend Richard Nelson, that Soho Press in New York was interested in looking at unsolicited manuscripts. I sent them a copy of BEAR in the winter of 1991, while I was living in Fairbanks. That summer I got a call from the editors saying they wanted to publish it. It went on to win the Shamus Award for best first mystery of that year.
   
Q: How long does it take to write a Cecil Younger mystery?
  A: If I'm able to work on my writing as my first priority it takes me several months of research and "staring out the window" time. Once I get started it takes about 18 months to complete a manuscript. It takes nine months to a year for most publishers to publish the book once they have a completed manuscript.
   
Q: Where does the character of Todd, Cecil's housemate, come from?
  A: Todd is a mix of many people I've met and worked with over the years. I have a family member who has a similar personality and way of speaking. Todd brings out the best in Cecil, and as such has become one of my most important series characters. But it almost wasn't so. In the first draft of THE WOMAN WHO MARRIED A BEAR, I killed Todd off in the second chapter. My wife, Jan, refused to finish reading the manuscript and insisted I bring him back to life. So I did.
   
Q: Are you really a private investigator, there in Sitka Alaska? How did that happen?
  A: I was a horseshoer in eastern Washington State when we moved to Sitka in 1977. The first thing I noticed was that it rained all the time and the second thing I noticed was: there weren't any horses anywhere around. I started looking for work and picked up jobs for the Forest Service clearing trails. I had a degree in writing from the University of Washington and I began writing a book of oral histories of old time Alaskans. This gave me valuable experience in doing interviews. In 1983 I met a brilliant young lawyer who wanted to train someone as an investigator to track down witnesses and do interviews. In 1984 I started doing cases with him. Since then I've worked almost exclusively on criminal defense investigations. I've been a staff investigator for the Alaska Public Defender as well as the Department of Environmental Conservation (For a short stint with them I carried a badge. This was my only experience with law enforcement). I traveled extensively in my investigative practice because there's not that much crime in my own little town. I still take on an occasional case but I'm happy being home, so I've been putting more and more time into my writing and being with my family.