Your new novel, Night of the Bear, came out on April 1st. What’s it about, and why were you inspired to write it?

Richard: We had a friend who had outlined a plot, but before he could flesh it out he died. Alan and I decided the plot was well worth the effort to modernize it for the current geopolitical circumstances. The book is about a Russian plot to take down the US government. My personal goal was to accurately depict what was truly possible while developing characters who accurately portrayed the many government people who sacrifice themselves for the sake of our country. I feel it’s best to write about something you know and like.

Alan: The friend Rich mentioned outlined the plot in the 1980s. He didn’t live long enough to build a marketable manuscript. We honored him on the memorial page at the front of Night of the Bear, and we have written permission from his heirs to use the material. In the forty years since the friend shared his ideas with me, much has changed in the world, technologically, culturally, and geopolitically. Modernizing the plot was more than I could handle alone, so I invited my longtime friend, Richard Hess, to join up as an equal contributor. Our goal was to present a plausible, realistic scenario in which the United States might actually capitulate in a limited nuclear attack from Russia. We used no hocus-pocus, no extreme coincidences, and no sci-fi technology. The story we crafted could conceivably happen—at least until Putin reads it.

You probably get asked about your careers as military aviators all the time. Can you tell us a little about that experience, and how it shaped your writing of this new book?

Richard: I served twenty-eight years in the Air Force and Air National Guard, and participated in nine war zones and international relief efforts. I’ve traveled the whole globe. I see the world realistically. There are good and bad actors, good and bad government leaders. However, bottom line, they all serve their own or their country’s selfish interests. That comes through in the Russian actions. I used much of my own experiences, in and out of the cockpit, to develop the scenarios and dialogue.

Alan: My career mirrored Rich’s. I served as an A-7D Corsair II fighter pilot in the 1970s. After that I transferred into the Air National Guard (ANG) and finished out at twenty-three years flying C-130s and C-141s. Overlapping my ANG years I flew for United Airlines, finishing there as a B-767 captain. I’ve always been involved with light airplanes and owned several. I began writing in the late 1990s and have published three books and numerous magazine stories.

Publishing a book can be an intimidating process, and it’s certainly a learning curve. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned throughout the publishing process, and what advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Richard: You have to choose a publisher that will put out the effort on your behalf. However, publishing a book is an involved process and the author(s) must be intimately involved every step of the way. Books don’t sell themselves. It’s a crowded field, more so than a few decades ago. You have to not just make the book the best it can be (content and cover), but also be involved in promoting it. Koehler’s [marketing] guide is an excellent starting point.

Alan: Writing is a lonely endeavor that is fraught with distractions and deceptions. Golf clubs, fishing rods, and myriad other things—some material, some human—wait to ambush your muse and convince you your time at the keyboard will be futile. If you make it past the distractions and achieve a publishable manuscript, you’ll find that publishing what you write is like putting on a parachute and jumping into hot LZ. The rejections zip at you like bullets. Years ago I gave up on a manuscript and despondently tossed the floppy disc (and its back-up) into the trash. I know now if I had only waited it out, it would have been published.

Authors often suggest different avenues in the way of marketing. Can you explain what has worked for you? Where did you begin?

Richard: We started with our social media accounts. If you’re like us, you have a Facebook, X, Twitter, etc. that allow you to reach many hundreds of people who have an interest in you, or they wouldn’t be your friends. Encourage them to share with their network. Go to local libraries and bookstores. I’ll be doing a “meet the author” at my local library in six months. I’m also going to talk to some third-party publicity firms about other marketing ideas. Bottom line: Being lazy does not sell books. You had enough motivation to write your book. Now learn the trade, ask questions, and get involved in its marketing.

Alan: Time is not your friend when the book rolls out. You can only go so long telling potential readers your book is newly published. After that the luster wears thin. I think this time frame is six months. Rich and I are about done with initial social media pitches, although we’ll continue with that, and are in the planning stages for bookstore and event appearances. One thing that has helped a lot is getting endorsements from influential people. For example, published authors who comment on your book get their own books promoted in your  endorsement pages. We have a YouTube creator who endorsed us, and we reciprocated by crediting his channel. That’s a win-win. Also, we’ve chosen a person who can help us the most with his local connections and are planning a major bookstore and event push in his city. My goal is to get our book in front of eyes that have the power to boost it to a national level.

What’s your writing routine like? Do you have any sacred rituals or practices that help you show up at the blank page?

Richard: Make time to write. I usually have breakfast, work out, and take care of other obligations; then after lunch, I have about a four-hour window of quiet time to write without interruption. Your time preference may be different, but I found a routine helps. Don’t be rushed or shortchange your blocks of time set aside.

Alan: When I’m writing I want to throw a hand grenade at whomever or whatever interrupts me. I do my most productive writing sitting down for long marathons at the computer, and they don’t follow any time-of-day patterns.