Looking back and planning ahead

Looking back

And planning ahead

My first decade as a fiction writer  

I published my first two books in 2014 – business advice for entrepreneurs – after decades of writing professionally as a consultant, lecturer, and business executive. I had an interest in becoming a writer back in high school, but was thrown out of journalism class in grade 11 because I was in the University Program and journalism was a “vocational course.”

So I obediently went on to university for an Engineering degree at UBC in Vancouver then an MBA at McGill in Montreal and a thirty-five-year career in business and consulting before publishing my first book.

I choose the pen name of Your Uncle Ralph for all the business books and the articles and blog posts at LearningEntrepreneurship.com and in 2020 published second editions of The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans and DON’T DO IT THE HARD WAY – How to Avoid the Seven Biggest Mistakes that Entrepreneurs Make.

In both business books, I used Real-life Stories to give examples of the lessons learned during my own career as the owner of a computer products distribution business and from the good, bad, and disastrous management decisions of clients and associates during my thirty years in business consulting.

In 2015, I decided to make those stories more interesting for readers and more fun for me to write by adding some drama and suspense, murder, mystery and mayhem in a series of crime fiction novels. The Dale Hunter Thriller Series, about an entrepreneur fighting crime and corruption in the international computer business of the 1980s, started with five book titles and tag lines and a rough outline of what they would be about. The first three, NO EASY MONEY – You never win playing by the rules, SIMPLY THE BEST – It may be simple, it’s never easy, and MERGER MANIAC – Some offers have to be refused, were published in 2018 and 2019.

The fourth novel in the Series, BAD BOYS IN BOSTON – It’s just business, never personal, jumps forward thirty years to the current era, and the fifth novel, CRASH LANDING – Public pressure, private pain, has Dale Hunter and his crime fighting buddy, Frank the Fixer, back in the 1990s. These novels were published in May and December of last year.

The sixth novel, WHATEVER IT TAKES – Trust nobody, was not among the initial five titles, but continues the themes of an entrepreneur as the hero fighting crime and corruption in the international world of business.

During the past few years, I have also written a number of short stories with two collections in process, one story published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine, and The KID from CALIFORNIA – Short Story Series – Volume 1,  published in December as a modern version of pulp fiction detective stories with a young man from San Diego working for the Mob in Las Vegas as an enforcer and part-time bodyguard for Frank Sinatra trying to avoid becoming a ruthless murderer or getting killed himself.

And planning ahead for 2025

The first priority it to finish the sixth novel in the Dale Hunter Series, WHATEVER IT TAKES, which is in final revisions for release in May or June this year. I’ll also continue The KID from CALIFORNIA – Short Story Series with Volume 2 and submit more short stories for publication to various anthologies and mystery and suspense magazines. Two more novels are at the early stages of planning and development.

Another priority this year is to get more exposure to international readers with more focused advertising and promotion and to enlist professional business partners to assist in the challenging process of publishing and marketing every book. And it also seems appropriate to publish 2025 editions of The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans and DON’T DO IT THE HARD WAY.

I have also stepped up for a more active role in Crime Writers of Canada after six years as a Professional Author Member. I’m currently the Vice Chair and Chief Cheerleader and have agreed to the nomination for Chair and President for 2025-2026. You may be interested in joining us at this great Canadian institution – supporting crime writing worth reading since 1982 – as an author member, associate, sponsor, or donor. We are currently registered as a National Arts Service Organisation and can accept tax-deductible donations for 2024 until the CRA-extended deadline of February 28th.

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll find me and my books in a library or bookstore near you, or online everywhere. Enjoy your reading and writing and thank you for your continued interest in these occasional updates.

Del 

www.DelvinChatterson.com

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