That love has also led Tim in recent years to writing fiction for licensed properties for Harlequin — not the romances typically associated with the publisher, but action adventure and spy novels for the publisher’s Gold Eagle/Worldwide Division.
Writing action adventures for established characters under a pen name wasn’t Tim’s first inclination as a fiction writer. Like many writers, he started out first by experimenting with fiction.
“I worked on my first novel in the early 1990s,” Tim says. “Of course, it was terrible, like so many first novels are.”
Prior to that, Tim grew up in the Dayton area. He graduated from Tippecanoe High School in Tipp City in 1985, and then attended University of Cincinnati, first studying business but graduating with a degree in journalism in 1990.
After working for Vandalia Drummer News, Piqua Daily Call and Troy Daily News, Tim joined the Dayton Daily News in 1998 as a business reporter. There, he says, he joined a writing group with other reporters also interested in writing fiction in their spare time.
“I wrote another novel but realized it didn’t quite work, either,” Tim says.
As a reporter, he was used to calling people to ask questions. He liked reading the Mack Bolan series, which was created by writer Don Pendleton in 1969 with “War Against the Mafia.” Pendleton continued writing until 1980 before selling rights to the character to Harlequin. The series continued with ghostwriters continuing the series to meet worldwide reader demand. “I called up Gold Eagle at Harlequin and asked if I could possibly get a copy of the ‘bible’ writers for the series used — characters, world building and so forth. I thought that if I could study that, it would help me understand how to improve as a story creator. Somehow, I ended up chatting with the editor in charge of the series. I explained my interest and my background, and he said, why not try to write a Bolan novel?”
Since he was already a fan of the series, Tim says he thought, ‘Why not?’ and submitted his effort in 2001. “To my amazement and joy, Gold Eagle bought my novel, ‘Death Merchants’ which was published in 2003.”
The Bolan character is featured in three series, The Executioner, Mack Bolan and Stony Man, Tim explains, adding “I’ve written for them all — 11 novels.” Since the character originated, nearly 600 novels about the character have been written by numerous authors.
Tim says he’s learned a lot by writing for an established series. Gold Eagle has scaled back publication of the Bolan novels, so since 2013 Tim has turned his creative writing energy to other projects. In 2014, his novella “Blood Feud,” part of the Fight Card action series established by author Jack Tunney, was published.
“I really liked the character I created, named David Garrett,” Tim says. “In this case, though the digital version of the novella originally appeared under the Jack Tunney name, the print on demand version carries my name as author. Additionally, I retain the right to write more about the character under my name. So I am planning to write future books about the character and will self-publish those. I’m learning that self-publishing requires skills in addition to writing — working with cover designers, freelance editors and overseeing the process. My newspaper background helps with this aspect of self-publishing.”
Additionally, Tim’s business background is also helpful, he says, not just from studying business initially in college, but also from working for his father’s mechanical design firm in recent years. After his first Bolan novel came out, Tim turned to freelancing along with creative writing for a while, then worked for the Dayton Business Journal and the Dayton Daily News again until 2011.
Tim has also been working on collaborative projects with other writers from the action adventure and spy genres. “In May of this year, I published ‘Target.’ It’s a Kindle Worlds adventure for the Codename: Chandler series, which was established by Joe Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson. I teamed my character, David Garrett of ‘Blood Feud,’ with their spy character, Chandler, a female superspy. In July, my episode of the Linger series, created by author Robert Gregory Browne, was published. Mine is the third book, ‘Reckoning for the Damned.’ ”
As he goes forward with projects under his own name and in collaboration with other writers, Tim says he is grateful for the lessons learned about writing and publishing through his experiences writing novels for the various Mack Bolan series.
“I’ve learned a lot about self-discipline,” says Tim, who writes early in the morning before going to work, “and about how to collaborate on creative projects.”
Events and news
• Next Sunday, Aug. 23, 7 p.m., Gem City Poetry Stage (Dharma Center of Dayton, 425 Patterson Road): featured poet reading followed by open mic.
• Wednesday, Aug. 26, 7 p.m., Books & Co. at The Greene, Beavercreek: Sandra Brown will introduce her newest romantic suspense novel, “Friction.” Line numbers beginning at 6 p.m.
About the Author