The View From My Writing Room

This begins a reoccurring, but not regularly scheduled column, from the point of view of just one author as I survey the market.


Many already know that I grew up as a child who didn’t enjoy reading. My father authored over 70 books and hundreds of articles during his lifetime. I didn’t read any of his books.


My interests were more in the visual learning of actually “doing” things, rather than reading about them. I learned, early on, that if someone were to show me how to do something, I usually got it on the first try. But, if it were up to me to read about the same thing, I didn’t know where to start.


So, it’s no surprise that I chose to follow the other line of work that my father was involved in. He wrote, produced, and directed countess films for decades. It was my distinct privilege to work, side-by-side, with him on many of those productions. Some of them took us to war zones and other places where conflicts raged. In New Guinea, we were far up river, less than 50 miles from people who still practice headhunting. http://www.maxbooks.9k.com/custom2.html A few locations included Vietnam, the city of Belfast, Iran, and others. My dad didn’t have a death wish, but he did have a healthy spirit of adventure. The Vietnam production came just after I returned from serving in the US Army, and the war was still on.


Eventually, we parted professional ways, and my work took me into TV commercials, client video, and television production. It required me to begin writing proposals and production scripts in addition to shooting, directing, and producing.

For me, it wasn’t much of a leap to move into writing action-adventures & mysteries for readers 8 – 13, especially boys. Adults have told me that they see my books as a hybrid between the screen and the printed page, and kids tell me that reading one is like being in an exciting or scary movie.


I’ve completed 36 manuscripts like the above. A few have been published, and it looks like many more will be. So, if you have children who you hope to hook on reading, my books may just be what you and they are looking for.

I surely hope so.


Max Elliot Anderson