Q&A With Lawrence A Colby 

Tonight, I’m doing a Q&A with author Lawrence A Colby. Lawrence is the #1 Amazon Best Selling Military Thriller Author of “The Devil Dragon Pilot,” “The Black Scorpion Pilot,” and “The Buffalo Pilot.”  In Lawrence’s Instagram bio (@AuthorLAColby) he is a former USAF and USMC Pilot. Thank you Lawrence for your service to our country! 

Q: Is it fair to say that your experiences as a pilot in the military is the inspiration behind your novels?

A: It’s great to be able to answer your questions, Bianca, and thank you for asking me!  Yes, my military flying and intelligence community career is a large part of my writing because I’ve always felt that a writer comes through in his or work as authentic when they write about what they know and have experienced first-hand.  It provides the ‘special sauce’ that readers demand; I feel certain occupations and experiences can only be relayed with authenticity in fiction when they are written by someone who has lived it. I feel honored to have served my country in these capacities and sharing exciting fiction work based upon my career is a privilege. 

Q: When in your life did you realize you wanted to be an author?

A: Like so many authors, I started building my reading base as a child. My foundation was “The Hardy Boys,” a series that revolved around teenage boys attempting to solve cases that the adult authorities could not figure out.  Our town library has nearly all the original 38 books; and if any of your readers are familiar, there was a terrific checklist of every book at the end for reference. Over time, my reading morphed into Tom Clancy’s work beginning in 1984, and since then I’ve been an aggressive reader. As an example, I read 99 books in 2022 and feel I am nobody special.  Any one of us who writes starts out by being a ferocious reader first. 

With that foundation, I had written a few magazine articles in military publications but had not tried a book yet.  After reading “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron and “On Writing” by Stephen King, I knew it was time to turn my background and research into fictional work.  In 2014, I focused my efforts on my first novel “The Devil Dragon Pilot” and it skyrocketed to #1 on the Amazon bestsellers lists.   I am grateful for the veteran community for their valuable support as I often give them the credit for helping me start and purchasing my books.

Q: What advice do you give to anyone wanting to write? What would you tell someone dealing with writers block?

A: I have found it to be very helpful to talk to other authors and editors to see what they are working on and seek their best practices.  I’m in contact with fellow military veteran writers such as Jeff Wilson (Navy), Don Bentley (Army), and Jack Carr (Navy), and we toss ideas around on a variety of topics.  What’s helpful to me in generating stories and preventing writer’s block is being curious about life, which acts as a catalyst for asking additional questions. Traveling around the world enables me to become a more serious observer of the human condition. Meeting new people and reading biographies helps me understand how they reacted to certain situations, overcame obstacles, and conquered their goals.  If you Venn Diagram curiousness with creativity and openness, authors can generate thrilling, entertaining stories.  Add in your own personal experiences, along with a solid understanding of the three-act story, writing format knowledge and practice, and you can do it as well.

Q: Are you writing another novel now? 

A:  Yes!  Just putting the finishing touches on a new military-thriller based in Washington, DC that involves the Pentagon, a mysterious murder, the FBI, and agents of a foreign government. It’s currently under the Pre-Publication Review at the Pentagon and I am beyond excited to see this book published.  We live in exciting times!  Thanks, Bianca!

www.AuthorLAColby.com

TW/FB/IG: @AuthorLAColby