Guest post and contest for Dying Light by D. Scott Meek

*I am pleased to welcome D. Scott Meek to Bite Club today. He's here to share some of what motivates him to write and we will also be giving away a copy of his book, Dying Light. Contest details will be at the end of this post. Scott now has the floor...

One would think that 20 years in the Navy would give me dozens of ideas for writing -- sea stories do, after all, abound, but in all honesty, I can't repeat most of them outside of a small group. Every sailor knows that what happens at sea, stays at sea. These are the unwritten rules; like Fight Club -- you only talk about Fight Club when you are there. You only talk about sea stories to sailors -- no wives, no girlfriends, no kids or moms.

In fact, it was my divorce at the end of my career that spawned my writing. It was my military career though that made it possible, leaving me with great job prospects and the experience and skills that would lead me to where I am now: free to write whatever I want because of the abundance of time and money I have now.

So, I write.

Leaving the Navy had its own sorrows, but they were nothing compared to leaving my
kids and watching my entire life pack up into a minivan and drive five hours away. That
left me with a massive hole in my life and a huge hole in my heart, not to mention a lot of
emotions to work through. That led to me writing -- self-therapy. Blogging about my life
and my transition from married military man to single retired man led to short stories in
which I expressed my loss and my fears through characters. People could feel the
emotions in the stories; they sympathized with my tragic heroes and heroines, and they
asked for more. That more became a challenge that I enjoyed -- create new adventures,
new stories and new characters, all with a story to tell, lessons to be learned just as I was
learning them for myself. Finally, it was suggested that I take on an even larger effort,
that of a novel. I couldn't argue, but I had no idea what I was doing. I just did what I'd
always done -- sit and write and let it all just happen.

So, here I am, six years later, life stable and relaxing, kids and ex-wife smoothly
transitioned to a new family model, puppy dog keeping me company, and words pouring
out of me as fast as I can type them. I never expected to be here, but those terrifying
years of retirement and divorce have paid off with words that connect me to others and
characters that people really love. I think they may all live happily ever after.



Want to know more about Scott and his sci-fi vampire thriller, Dying Light? Click here to check out his blog.

*Want to win a copy of Dying Light? Leave a comment about your favorite sci-fi/vampire combination for a chance to win...it's that easy! The contest will run until December 3rd and I will announce the winner the following day. Please leave a contact email if one is not in your profile.