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P. Wesley Lundburg

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.pwesleylundburg.net

Twitter

pwesleylundburg

Genre

Suspense, Mystery, Crime

Influences

Anne Tyler, Raymond Chandler, Ernest Hemingway, Dashiell Hammett, Flan ...more

Member Since

October 2016

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P. Wesley Lundburg has been an Alaska Charter Boat Captain, Coast Guardsman, college English professor, and professional editor. Wes holds a B.A. in English, Masters degrees in Literature and in Philosophy, and a Ph.D. in Education. He works full-time in higher education, and writes in his spare time.

Wes launched his fiction-writing career in 7th grade with a teacher-acclaimed UFO abduction story, became addicted to writing, and hasn't stopped since. Most of his published work has been creative essays, particularly cross-country skiing and hiking/backpacking pieces, and he has written many outdoor travel articles. He has also published academic papers, and presented papers and workshops in his areas of Literature and Communication. His grea ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

P. Wesley Lundburg Here's the advice I wish somebody had given me years ago . . . if they had, I might have started writing novels 2 decades ago:

1. Don't wait for the ev…moreHere's the advice I wish somebody had given me years ago . . . if they had, I might have started writing novels 2 decades ago:

1. Don't wait for the ever-elusive muse. S/he doesn't exist. S/he is a mythological creature that dupes you into sitting around waiting for pedals of genius to waft slowly from heaven into your lap. S/he's a strumpet, a siren, and a tramp. If you're sitting around waiting for some piece of perfection, you're not understanding that your best work will emerge when you keep writing. It won't come by waiting, and it won't come by forcing brilliance or insight. To quote Tom Clancy: "Just write the damn story."
2. Don't expect too much of yourself. Just write. See what comes out. You can always edit and revise. The books I have out there now came when I didn't push myself to do anything in particular. I just had a good story idea, developed deeply human characters, and dropped them into the story to watch what would happen. And guess what?..... it DID happen.
3. Focus on the story, not you writing it. If you can get yourself to a place of being a stenographer, capturing the story as it unfolds, you'll be in a good place.
4. Do NOT get discouraged. Ever. Keep on keeping on. Let the joy of writing carry you, and allow yourself to look upon it and call it good. (And by the way, this is the item I violate the most!)
5. Find readers who will encourage you, and at least one other writer to communicate with regularly. Daily is best... mine is my nephew. We text ideas back and forth, report on the writing of the day, and strategize marketing together. Between my best reader (my wife) and my nephew, I'm actually doing this. I'm not all that sure I would be without them.
6. Be grateful. Grateful for those from #5 above, and grateful that you can even put good sentences together, let alone write creatively. Be grateful for a life that allows you to reflect, observe, and capture in words.

That about covers it, from my view. If you think I might be helpful to you, drop me a message or email me at pwesleylundburg@gmail.com. I love talking about writing!
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Was your first book published your first book written? I see your advice for aspiring writers, but was there a period of time where you thought about the books before writing them? Have you ever abandoned one book for a new idea and then returned to it?

P. Wesley Lundburg Hi, Bill! Thanks for lobbing me a fun question! Here goes:

Question 1) No, my first book written is unpublished.... and will remain so! It was an actio…moreHi, Bill! Thanks for lobbing me a fun question! Here goes:

Question 1) No, my first book written is unpublished.... and will remain so! It was an action-adventure book written some 20 years ago. I've been asked if I would revise it for publication, and the answer is no. I think it would take too much work to revise it, and I'd rather focus on the newer projects I have going (I have 3 more, specifically, that I'd love to do if I had more time). But, I did steal a character from that unpublished, dead novel of 20 years ago: Ned Simmons, the notorious poacher in Poacher's End (Mattituck Series, Book 2), was lifted from that previous novel.

Question 2) The Frank Mattituck Series was something I started right when I thought of it. I had started another book and have 3 chapters on that one written, but abandoned it to work on Skipper's Oath. So, the Mattituck case, no, there was no lapse in time from concept to drafting. With the Clayton Chronicles, yes. I had been wanting to work with a hard-boiled detective--a return to Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe--for years. The idea for Rick "Clay" Clayton came about 6 months before I actually started working on Book 1, and all the main characters (Clay, Lionel, Clifford, Mr. Burke and the Tweedles) were all formed before I came up with the story idea for Book 1. That's backwards from how I usually work, but it turned out really well, I think. [Sidenote: Book 2 will be appearing soon--as in 2 weeks or so--in serialized form with a new chapter weekly/bi-weekly on Channillo.com prior to being published as a book... watch for news on that!]

Question 3) Yes, as I mentioned above, I abandoned a novel to start Skipper's Oath. I don't know if I'll ever come back to that one, but I'd like to as it was a great story idea with interesting, deep characters. I also had a collection of stories that were unified in theme (personal self-discovery) that I've abandoned. Interestingly, my novella On Rocks and Clouds was originally much shorter and was in that collection.

Thanks for the great questions! It's fun to think about all this....!
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P. Wesley Lundburg’s books

Average rating: 4.43 · 269 ratings · 91 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Skipper's Oath (The Frank Mattituck #1) 4.34 avg rating — 112 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Poacher's End 4.56 avg rating — 57 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Stateroom Tryst (Clayton Chronicles Book 1) 4.34 avg rating — 41 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	On Rocks and Clouds 4.77 avg rating — 26 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hinchinbrook's Hunted (The Frank Mattituck Series, #3) 4.52 avg rating — 27 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Desert Throwdown (Clayton Chronicles Book 2) 3.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mattituck Series Boxed Set (The Frank Mattituck Series) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by P. Wesley Lundburg…

27 posts
P. Wesley Lundburg's Blog

Sub-Plots

If you think about the most intriguing books—the ones that really stick in your memory—you’ll realize that they all had one shared element: Excellent sub-plotting. Having one singular plot in a story makes for a monolith in story-telling, and that can ring a death-toll. Most stories have minor sub-plots that get us interested in the layers embedded in a story. And all good stories have layers. The Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 24, 2018 13:02 • Tags: characters, narrative, series, story-telling

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Series by P. Wesley Lundburg

Frank Mattituck (3 books)
by

P. Wesley Lundburg (Goodreads Author)

4.43 avg rating — 196 ratings

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P.’s Recent Updates

P. Lundburg is now friends with Shayla Danielle
Jan 31, 2024 07:32AM · like
P. Lundburg liked that Shayla Danielle wants to read 40 books in the 2024 Reading Challenge Shayla Danielle has read 11 books toward their goal of 40 books. 11 of 40 (28%) Create your own 2024 Reading Challenge »
Jan 31, 2024 07:30AM
P. Lundburg and 3 other people liked Jean's review of The Desert Throwdown (Clayton Chronicles Book 2): " Rick “Clay” Clayton explains it as all in a day’s work, but TThe Desert Throwdown, P. Wesley Lundburg’s second book in his Clayton Chronicles series, has some rip-roaring, dangerous action. Clay, a private detective who is working for the Doubleday D" Read more of this review »
Jul 27, 2023 11:32PM · see review
P. Lundburg and 13 other people liked Christine's review of The Desert Throwdown (Clayton Chronicles Book 2): "It’s been a long time since I dived into a thriller, but I wasn’t going to miss a new novel by one of my favorite thriller writers. Wes Lundburg is the author of the Rick (“don’t call me Rick”) Clayton Chronicles and the Frank Mattituck Series. Clay " Read more of this review »
Jul 27, 2023 11:32PM · see review
P. Lundburg rated a book really liked it It's Our Ship: The No-Nonsense Guide to Leadership by D. Michael Abrashoff	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 28, 2023 09:40PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of It's Our Ship by D. Michael Abrashoff. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — It's Our Ship by D. Michael Abrashoff <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
P. Lundburg rated a book it was amazing Punk Poetry by W.K. Lawrence	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Punk Poetry is a collection of the kind of poetry I like best. Lawrence writes verse steeped in imagery that makes me think of the imagist poetry of the early 20th century, where the image reigned and took control of whatever message or idea might be ...more
Jan 28, 2023 09:21PM · 2 likes · like · see review
P. Lundburg made a comment in the group A Good Thriller — Promote Your Book Here topic " [image] Book 2 in what started as an experiment! Reviews of Book 1 indicated that the experiment was working, so I decided to continue the series.. ...more "
Jan 28, 2023 09:12PM
P. Lundburg made a comment in the group Goodreads Reviewers' Group — Looking for reviews? ARC/Kindle Unlimited topic " Hello, Drea: I'm always looking for reviews for my books -- you can take your pick, but the below was just released. It's the 2nd in the series, but st ...more "
Jan 27, 2023 11:29AM
P. Lundburg made a comment on his status " [image] [image] ...more "
Jan 25, 2023 08:24PM
P. Lundburg added a status update: Hello, Goodreads Friends! JUST RELEASED.... and I'm looking for reviewers in exchange for a free copy. Goodreads readers have been among the most quality and thorough reviews I've received on previous books, so I'm hoping some of you will take me up on this! Message me if interested -- you can also email me at pwesleylundburg@gmail.com. Thanks!--Wes https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...
Jan 25, 2023 07:54PM · like · see status

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P.’s Quotes

“Are you a storyteller, Thomas Covenant?"
Absently he replied, "I was, once."
"And you gave it up? Ah, that is as sad a tale in three words as any you might have told me. But a life without a tale is like a sea without salt. How do you live?"
... Unconsciously, he clenched his fist over his ring. "I live."
"Another?" Foamfollower returned. "In two words, a story sadder than the first. Say no more -- with one word you will make me weep.”
― Stephen R. Donaldson

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“I try to leave out the parts that people skip.”
― Elmore Leonard

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“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”
― Groucho Marx, The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx

tags: animals, books, dogs, friends, humor

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