It’s my great pleasure to have as my next guest on the Crime Cafe podcast crime fiction author David Swinson. In anticipation of our interview, David has a written a great post and is giving away print copies of The Second Girl to five (count ’em, 5!) lucky winners!

To enter the giveaway, just email David Swinson at davidswinson[at]davidaswinson[dot]com. Use the subject line “Crime Cafe book giveaway” and send your entry by Friday, April 20, 2018. You’ll be entered into a random drawing.

So, without further ado, here’s David Swinson! 🙂

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I have never thought of myself as someone who has led a particularly interesting life. It was not until after the release of my book, The Second Girl, and the actual details of my life became a bit more public, that I realized others saw my past as something worth getting into. The Second Girl received a lot of praise, and great reviews, but my life before writing the book was what most interviewers wanted to talk about. I was uncomfortable with it in the beginning because I always thought of myself as a writer first. Everything else was secondary, a series of life stories that naturally segued from one thing to another. But the upside is, Frank Marr would not exist if it were not for all that life experience. I’m thankful for the good and the bad, and that I did not get published until later in life. I can only say that now. It was tough because since the age of seventeen, all I’ve ever wanted to be was an author. I do believe, though, that any other life path taken would not put me where I am today, most importantly, meeting my lovely wife and having a wonderful daughter.

The life of a writer can be frustrating. I cannot count all the rejection letters. There were a few books that never saw the light of day. The one thing I learned long ago, when I was a filmmaker, was to never recognize the obstacles in your way because then you will realize how difficult it really is. That’s how my first film, Roadside Prophets, got made through New Line Cinema. I was naïve, but that was a good thing. It is the same in publishing, maybe harder, but I know if you continue moving forward, and never give up, you will succeed. Being a part of a community of writers is equally important. There you will find encouragement, great advice, and discover that so many other successful authors went through the same thing as you did. For some of them it was even more difficult, but they never quit. I am thankful for my writing family. I’m thankful for all the trials in life. I have plenty to work with now.

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Author Bio
David Swinson is a retired police detective, having served with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC. Prior to joining the police department, Swinson was a record store owner in Seal Beach, California; a punk rock/alternative music concert promoter in Long Beach, California, and an independent film producer in Los Angeles. Swinson is the author of THE SECOND GIRL, CRIME SONG, and the forthcoming TRIGGER, on Mulholland Books/Little Brown and Company. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, daughter, bull mastiff, and Staffordshire terrier.

Visit DavidSwinson.com to learn more about the author.

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PS: Don’t forget to enter the giveaway. See above for details! 🙂