As a contributing writer to West Coast
sailing magazines,
Douglas Danielson is a recognized
authority on boating in Southern
California, Mexico and Central America.
His mystery and horror short stories
have appeared on the internet and in
print anthologies in the United States
and Britain. He lives with his wife in
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
http://www.doug-danielson.com
PageOneLit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading
and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest
influences and why?
Douglas Danielson: I’m a West Coast guy, who grew up in
Southern California. I love watching Ron Howard’s
“American Graffiti” because that is the way the youth
culture was back then. Pre-teen I was into reading comic
books, Captain Midnight and Batman. Then I discovered
the Hardy Boy and I was hooked on mysteries. As a
teenager, I was really into cars, and girls and didn’t
have much time for reading. But, I’ve been writing since
the late 50’s, beginning with an illustrated hot rod car
column called “Roddin’ Around with Doug” for my high
school news paper. I worked for an auto parts store and
was a pretty good pin-striper and air-brush artist.
PageOneLit.com: Why do you write?
Douglas Danielson: Some of my friends will say I started
writing fiction after I graduated from college and was
an architect in California doing environmental impact
reports. I’m just kidding of course. My real writing
career began in earnest in1997 when then Editor of
Santana Magazine, Kitty James, asked me to do a series
of non-fiction feature articles about how my yacht
delivery crew and I survived a hurricane by putting the
boat on the beach and then getting it off. I’m working
on using those articles to develop a “Perfect Storm”
type full-length novel. While continuing to write
free-lance feature articles for boating magazines, I
joined the Short Mystery Fiction Society and began
experimenting with short fiction. At the present time I
have seven manuscripts I am working on: two fiction,
three none-fiction, and two short stories. I write
because I want to share my world with others. It’s a
creative thing, and there never seems to be enough time.
PageoneLit.com: Briefly discuss SHORE LOSER. Great
Title!
Douglas Danielson: I love the title SHORE LOSER because
it can mean so many things, like someone wanting to
escape to a life at sea, or a play on words for a “sore
loser.” In 2000, I had open heart surgery, found that I
had a lot of time on my hands while recuperating, and
started developing ideas for a story. I wanted to write
a fictional account about what I do as a yacht delivery
captain, life in the marinas of Southern California, a
lifestyle few people know about or get to enjoy. This
desire developed into a nautical mystery/adventure
series with SHORE LOSER being my first novel. SHORE
LOSER took six years, four publishers, and many
revisions until it finally was printed.
PageOneLit.com: Who is Jake Mortensen?
Douglas Danielson: Jake Mortensen is me, if I were a lot
younger and much better looking. Actually he is a
composite character made up from the personalities of my
three sons; with a little bit of Horatio Hornblower and
Travis McGee thrown in for good measure. He gets to do
things that most of us would like to do if we were
younger and more resilient. He thinks too much,
sometimes is a bit of a Neanderthal when it comes to
woman, but he has a good heart. As a young man, he is
trying to find out who he is, and sometimes doesn’t
always succeed, even though he takes his
responsibilities as a boat captain seriously and he is
loyal to his friends.
PageOneLit.com: Briefly discuss WET DREAMS.
Douglas Danielson: “WET DREAMS” was a challenge for me
to write. It is a story about blackmail, and bringing
baggage home from the Vietnam War, and going surfing in
order to escape reality—because something BAD is about
to happen!! It was inspired by my youngest son, who
spent three tours of duty in the Iraq War as a Navy
reservist and a medic, “WET DREAMS” is not about
something pleasurable. My son and all the corpsmen and
women like him are the real heroes of any conflict and
most come back to civilian life with invisible scars
they will carry for the rest of their lives. Doctors
call it posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and many
returning service men and women will never find proper
treatment. I felt compelled, as an author and a father,
to explore how a young man, a good man, tries to deal
with the reoccurring nightmares. I hope I did not treat
the subject too lightly.
PageOneLit.com: If Hollywood called today and asked you
to cast SHORE LOSER & WET DREAMS , who would you cast
and why?
Douglas Danielson: I’ve never thought about casting my
stories as a movie, although many of my readers have
said I should. If I had to choose, I see the Jake
Mortensen character as a cross between Tom Cruise and a
younger Nicolas Cage.
PageOneLit.com: You are a contributing writer to West
Coast sailing magazines, and a recognized authority on
boating in Southern California, Mexico and Central
America. Discuss?
Douglas Danielson: That is how I got started writing, by
submitting articles to boating magazines. It happens
that I have a job, as a yacht delivery skipper and
marine surveyor, that takes me to many places people
want to know about, particularly boaters. I get to share
my many years of nautical experience and knowledge by
writing about the things I’ve seen and done. During the
cruising season, I give talks about navigation and
safety to boaters passing through Puerto Vallarta, bound
for Central America and the South Pacific.
PageOneLit.com: What do you hope to achieve with your
books?
Douglas Danielson: I want my books to entertain and not
be too cerebral. My stories take place in Southern
California, at Catalina Island and on the coastal waters
between Newport Beach and Cabo San Lucas. At the present
they are “beach reads” and I’m satisfied with that. My
stories are the product of a yacht delivery skipper’s
overactive, salt-encrusted mind while spending way too
many days at sea.
PageOneLit.com: What was the last book you read?
Douglas Danielson: “Minos” by Marcos Villatoro. His
Latina homicide detective, Romilia Chacon, is a
wonderful character with lots of flaws. I want to read
more. I am also a fan of John D. MacDonald. I read
everything of his I can get my hands on, particularly
stories written before his “Travis McGee” novels became
so popular.
PageOneLit.com: What's next?
Douglas Danielson: Next up in the Jake Mortensen series
is a story about a controversial radio and TV
commentator who is driven to win sailboat races at any
cost. He (or she, I haven’t decided yet) becomes a
cripple as a result of pushing his (or her) boat and
crew too hard. He (or she) has a special new “first to
finish” boat commissioned and built to challenge Roy
Disney’s record time in one of the Mexican races. The
vessel is specially designed to take into account his
(or her) new physical handicap. Jake and his friends
have second thoughts about signing up as crew, when
everything goes wrong at sea and their lives are
suddenly in danger. I hope to have the first draft
completed by August of this year.
PageOneLit.com: Do you have any hobbies? What are they?
How do they enhance your writing?
Douglas Danielson: My work as a delivery skipper and
marine surveyor keep me constantly on the water and
around boats, something I enjoy very much. I travel a
lot and love watching people and the crazy things they
do, particularly when they are under stress, I keep a
notebook and record every mannerism and sometimes
conversations. I guess that is my new hobby.
