David Winters

Author, speaker and humorist David L. Winters lives in the Washington, D.C., suburbs with a love bird named Birdie. After stints with Navy and Homeland Security, he retired in 2016 to write full time. His four books include the award-willing Sabbatical of the Mind: The Journey from Anxiety to Peace.

How do you connect with your characters?
David: Most of my characters are amalgamations of people from my past: Teachers from back in the day, sports figures, beautiful ladies I’ve known. The difference is that I had no idea what went on their minds in real life. As a writer, it’s fun to ascribe motives to my characters.

How do you come up with titles for your books?
David: Usually, the title is one of the first things that come to me. As I build out the story, the characters tend to drive me in one direction or another within the basic framework of my outline. I’m not a true pantser, but sometimes the tangents hold the gold of a tale well told.

How do you research ways to kill someone for your books?
David: Just communicating with DiAnn Mills on Facebook provides more than enough ideas about how to end people. Since meeting her at Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference last year, she has become a major influence. Although a strong Christian, her mind seems plenty bent when comes to murder.

What did you want to be as a child (and did that dream come true)?

David: As a child, I mainly wanted to be safe, but never felt that way. Due to some circumstances within our family, I wanted to capture the chaos and turn it into art. My first thought was to become a rock star. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out. So, I’ve decided that being an author is another fine way to fix my universe.

Current Book: Stock Car Inferno (Brimstone Fiction)
Fasten seatbelts as stock car driver Emalyn Martin takes you on wild ride as she confounds her competitors and stays one step ahead of a killer. Action heats up when her competitors start dying, and she ascends to the role of chief suspect.

Connect w/David
Website: https://www.sabbaticalofthemid.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordavidlwinters
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidlwinters22
Instagram: @authordavidlwinters