The Wounded Shadow #3

Author: Patrick W. Carr
Located in: Nashville
Submitted: February 27, 2018

    Tell us a little about yourself.  I was born in what was then West Germany into a military family at the height of the Cold War (1961). I don't believe my birth led to the escalation in tensions that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, but one can never be sure. After moving from place to place for another ten years, my family and I settled in Tn. After getting my M.E. degree from Georgia Tech I came back to Nashville and began a somewhat eclectic employment history. Now, I teach high school math and write in my spare time (what there is of it).

    What was your motivation behind this project?  I wanted to write a story about the horrors of war and the wounds that we don't see. My inspiration for this was my father, who served in Korea and Vietnam as a fighter pilot. Placed in a fantasy setting, this still manages to give the story a very real presence. Coupled with this, I wanted to weave elements from the suspense/detective genres. The Darkwater Saga is the result.

    What do you hope folks will gain from this project?  My hope is that people will appreciate the price our veterans pay, even beyond the wounds that are visible, and give them the honor they are due. Past that, I want them to come away from this series with the knowledge that God can heal the deepest wounds we carry.

    How were you personally impacted by working on this project?  Wow. Quite honestly, in more ways than I can count, but the story itself brought me closer to the struggle my dad had after coming home from Vietnam. I wrote from that perspective every day and it's impossible not to develop an empathy for that struggle.

    Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists?  I try to read in different genres and different authors. For this series, I read a lot of the "hard-boiled" detective stories from the past by authors like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammet and newer authors such as James Lee Burke and Elmore Leonard. For instruction on pacing, I read several books by Michael Crichton, who, in my opinion, is unparalleled in that facet of writing.

    Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know:  I would like them to know that I covet their feedback. I have considered writing other books from this particular story world, though from a different time, and would love to know if that idea appeals to them.

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