Jack Austin and the Series: In the Author's Words

Maybe I'm biased, but I think golf is about the only professional sport left where athletes govern themselves by a code of honor. Like classic detectives created by writers like Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker, players on the PGA Tour perform alone, strive for perfection where none can be found, and rule themselves by individual integrity. To me, the metaphor has always been unmistakable. This concept spawned the Jack Austin mystery series, novels set amid day-to-day life of the PGA Tour.

Jack Austin is the world's 99th-ranked player. He's a Maine native and a dyslexic, two attributes that he and I share. But, no, I'm not Jack Austin. I chose those characteristics because I knew them well. It's as simple as that.

Jack is no Tiger Woods either, yet he's a competitor. He will go to his grave believing that on a given day he can beat anyone. And he'd love the chance to stare Woods down in a playoff. He's won once on Tour and has stumbled into several situations that force him to defend not only himself and his family but also the Tour and the game he loves.

Now, a little about the process. Substantial research has gone into the series to create such a realistic portrayal of life on the PGA Tour. That research has enabled me to forge friendships with Tour players J.P. Hayes and his wife Laura. Likewise, as a guy who makes three-putting an artform, imagine the thrill of having Brad Faxon, a Ryder Cupper and one of the game's all-time great putters, praise my work. Additionally, in 2005, my wife and I received passes to the Deutsche Bank Championship and watched as Vijay Signh overtook Tiger Woods as world No. 1.

More than anything, though, the series is not about that stuff. It's not even about the books. And it's certainly not about the publishing business. It's about writing. The process--seeing a scene come to life, then trying my damnedest to make it better, a word at a time. It's about creating a world you and I can both see and creating a man, Jack Austin, an ordinary guy who grew up watching his old man work for everything he got and who considers himself lucky to have "the world's best job." If I've done my job well, you can see Austin, maybe even relate to him; he deals with issues you and I face--job stress, marriage, fatherhood. And we both watch him grow. My job is to tell an entertaining story, to grab you and hold your attention until the last page. But in the end, for me, the series is about the process. Hopefully, it always will be.