Howdy all and welcome to Confessions of a Mystery Author, my name’s C.G. Eberle and I thank you for taking time to sit back and read my blog. I’m hoping to post something once or twice a week, that’s while I’m dealing with a day job, writing my next novel, polishing said novel(s), promoting myself, and of course dealing with ‘real life’. Truth be told, I’d rather hide away somewhere in a cozy log cabin, with a roaring fireplace going, cut off from this modern world, and write my story ideas out, giving them real life.
Some of the reasons behind my blog & website include; first I need a stronger online presence to promote myself & my books, as my publisher recently pointed out. Secondly this forum, my site that is, is to use it to support other authors I’ve encountered, who I believe fans will enjoy. And third I think its going to be a sounding platform for me. I admit I spend a fair amount of time by myself, and it was pointed out having a podium like this maybe a benefit to me.
Before we go any further allow me to tell you about myself:
Although my penname is C.G., everywhere else I go by Chris, (unless I just did something that caused my mother to hit the fan, then its Christopher). I was born in Buffalo, NY in 1970 and except when I went away to Cazenovia College in 2001, I’ve lived here my whole life. I know there’s a lot of jokes about ‘The Queen City’ to me and a helluva of lot people it’s home. Yes, we have rough winters, but they make you hearty. (Of course, REAL Buffalo Wings does too!) I’ve lived in the mostly Irish neighborhood South Buffalo all my life and I gotta be honest I can’t picture myself anywhere else. I’ll talk about Buffalo/ the Western New York area in a future blog, but I gotta say this flat out, the people here are the best. More about this later, back to my past.
Several folks have asked me when I knew I wanted to be a writer and I think the answer is ever since I was 5 or 6, but I just didn’t know it then. According to my Mom I used to write & draw up my home-made comic books. I remember I based them on the DC title World’s Finest, which was a monthly team up of Superman & Batman, with back up stories of other heroes. The real catalyst that lit the fire and inspired me to write came to me in my junior year in high school, when I saw Kolchak; the Night Stalker starring Darren McGavin (A Christmas Story, Raw Deal, Mike Hammer, Private Eye) The show had been off for many years and it was being used as part of the CBS late night block after the 11 o’clock news. This was back before the network had any real late-night shows like The Tonight Show. Well the series is about a Chicago newspaper man who dealt with monsters, demons, aliens, artificial lifeforms, even a demi-goddess. Each case dealt with numerous deaths and Carl Kolchak was the only one believed the truth and tried to publish the truth but was cut off every time, for one reason or another. As for me, the show inspired me to write and I tried my hand at banging out a very-rough story of a nephew of Carl’s who followed in his uncle’s footsteps as a newsman and dealt with similar creatures. The stories I worked on involved a gorgon that’s come from Greece looking for revenge and a hospital’s medical computer system gets it’s circuits crossed with new security systems computer and looks to kill every human in the facility, believing they are germs infecting its body.
Well things didn’t go as I hoped, then again when do they ever for us? The best laid plans of mice and men…. blah, blah, blah. Such is life.
Well life goes on as they say, and I had other interests and high school and set my sights on a different career field, and of course those plans fell apart as well, maybe all’s for the best. Then in 1994 the real passion for writing was lit when I read an article about the birth of a white buffalo calf, named Miracle, because her fur changed color from white to yellow to red to brown to black & back to white. The legend of the Lakota’s White Buffalo Calf Woman inspired my first book, The Rainbow Warrior: Genesis which I began writing in 1994. And remember there was no E-Books, the internet was in its baby days compared to today, and print-on-demand meant a whole other thing and was a dirty term.
Long story short; it took ten years and in 2004 I was published by a company that didn’t have the best rep in the business, little did I know. But they held up their end of the contracts, I received my royalties, and didn’t have to pay them to print my books.
If it isn’t obvious, I’m an avid reader, have been ever since I was a kid, thanks to my Mom. When I about 5 or 6 I bought my very first book, a full length, hard cover novel of Peter Pan . As I got to be a pre-teen, I became a major fan of Judy Blume and wore out my copies of Superfudge, Blubber, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Frecklejuice, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
It’s no secret I’ve a passion for mysteries and my inspiration for some time now has been the late Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. I first came across the Boston P.I. like many in 1985 when ABC debuted the series Spenser: for Hire starring Robert Urich. I admit fully Spenser is someone I’d like to be. As I got older I discovered the novels, and about five years ago I began a quest to collect them all and have done so, all first printings in hardcover, except for one, which finding it was a trip to hell and back, that I’ll talk about later. In time I also began collecting Parker’s other sleuths, Jesse Stone, police chief of Paradise, MA, and female Boston P.I. Sunny Randall. On top which Sue Graton and Janet Evanovich have helped inspire me as well. But as for specific works by the big three I’d have to say Parker’s Promised Land, Valediction, A Catskill Eagle, Crimson Joy, Small Vices, Potshot, Backstory have been the biggest encouragement for me.
In the weeks to come I’ll be posting more blogs, trying one or two a week about the goings-on of me and the worlds I’ve created. So as they say stay tuned, and if you have any comments or questions please feel free to post them or email me at Cavillier1970@Yahoo.com and I’ll answer you. And if I get enough I’ll do a Q&A Blog and post up here.
Till next time,
All the best,
C.G. Eberle
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