Writing is a craft that takes time to learn. Every genre has specific requirements so I began to read the thriller masters (Morell, Barry, Child, Furst, et. al.) to see how they do it. When I started to have time to write, I took writing courses at Mercer Community College. Then I joined a local writer’s group and started attending the Thrillerfest conferences in NYC. I’d be nowhere without T-fest. As I still was working, I wrote short stories. This has had a major influence on how I write novels.