When you start something like this, you might not even have a place to put it or what to call it. You just have a bunch of thoughts and ideas that might make a good story . . . or might not. I have been working on novels for a long time . . . way back since 1970. That is a long time! Closing in on 50 years!

But as far as formal novels go, this one is the fifth. So just to get organized when I had no clue what it would be called I started out using "CallItFive" as a working, filing title. It gave me a chance to put things in a place where I could find them again.

And I've got to give Elizabeth George credit for getting me started again. Her book about writing, "Write Away", emphasized starting with the characters. In fact she has a very helpful series of steps for putting a story together.

So I had an idea about the dangers of houses and how that might make a good story. Oh, and it takes place in 1979 and has nothing to do with this picture. I just like the picture. That’s my great uncle up there. He wrote music and poetry. Guess it kind of runs in the blood.