Bobby earned a Bachelor of Science degree when he was 51 years old from Brenau College. Military honors include: The Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V"; The Unit Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with

Palm. Police certifications include: P.O.S.T. Certified Executive Level; Radar Instructor; ForensicHypnotist.

Police Honors include: Graduate of the FBI National Academy, 129th Session; Georgia State President of the National Association of Chiefs of Police; 11th District Vice-President of Georgia Chiefs of Police; J. Edgar Hoover Memorial Award for Distinguished Police Service; 1983 Americanism Award from Citizens Offering Police Support (COPS); The James Madison Award for Excellence in Journalism for the newspaper article "A Tale of Two Gun Cities"; and was listed in both the 1980 and 1983 editions of WHO’S WHO IN AMERICAN LAW ENFORCEMENT, and the 1986 edition of MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT.

When two friends turned enemies plan a murderous plot of revenge against each other, who gets hurt and who is to blame?

At an early age David Epstein was determined to become a Psychiatrist. His start in life found him wanting to help others. As fate would have it, David was the one who would eventually need psychiatric help.

David was an only child. A stern, ex-military father and a loving mother raised him. Mr. Epstein’s words that he lived by were drummed into David’s head. "Do unto others before they do unto you. Take no prisoners and have no mercy." David shortened his father’s words to fit his own life. His motto became, "Have no mercy."

When David was in college his world was turned upside-down. From that moment on one betrayal after another led him to a breaking point.

Abandoned by his parents, deceived by his closest and only childhood friend, and scorned by his wife, David sets out on a journey to even the score. When his wife is found dead, Detectives Joe Warner and Eddy Konklin enter the picture. Was Ann Epstein murdered, and if so, by whom? As the detectives dig deeper and deeper into their investigation of Ann’s death, they discover plots of revenge gone wrong...

Yes they did, Annette. Since I spent 10 years in the Criminal Investigation Division (CID)of the U.S. Marine Corps, and another 13 years in civilian law enforcement, I couldn't help but draw on my past career experience.


Do you feel writers need to experience what they write about,or is armchair research good too?

Let's hope authors like Stephen King have not experienced what they've written. :-)

I don't normally straddle the fence, but on this question I don't think there is a definite yes or no. Also, I have to take into consideration that, joke as I might about Stephen King and his work, I don't beleive I've ever met anyone who has experienced a lot of the Fantasy and Sci-fi stories they write about.

Now fiction is another story - well, that's my opinion. Certainly experience helps because the writer can say, "I've been there; I've done that; I've know someone like that; or, "I've felt that." With this knowledge base to draw on, their story is going to be, or shoud be, very realistic. If I were to write a ficton story based on my experience in Viet Nam, I would be able to have a fictional character describe what he (I) went through physically, mentally, and emotionaly when he (I) was behind the enemy lines fighting for his (my) life. If the same book was written by a housewife, who has never left her home town but did a lot of "armchair" research, her book would have the same chance at being believed as mine. Why? Because even though I wrote what I experienced, the houswife might be more expressive and a much better writer then I am. Unless an author writes a believable story, neither experience nor "armchair" research will do them one bit of good.

There is only one reason why I became a writer and that is my wife. With her help on story lines, and giving me much needed confidence, I managed to write Have No Mercy, and several more stories that are sitting in the wings. For me, writing was definitely not a gradual happening. One day I was watching TV, and the next day I was authoring a book.

Who is your favourite author, or who has influenced your writing?

Actually, I have three favorite authors: Stephen Coonts, Dale Brown, and W.E.B. Griffin. I've read and enjoyed every one of their books.

What sort of books do you like to read?

Give me books about flying, cops, military, and mysteries, and I'm a happy reader.

If you could meet any character from a book, who would it be and why?

I assume you're giving me an open door here, since you aren't specifying a fictional or non-fictional character. So I have to start by saying, if you were asking me this question several years ago, I would have answered, Gregory (Pappy) Boyington (Black Sheep Squadron). However, since I had the pleasure of meeting Pappy years ago, my first choice today would be BGen Pickering. He is from the W.E.B. Griffin series, "The Corps." He was a very sensitive man that had it all together, and truly cared about his men. In my eyes, BGen Pickering was the perfect father image.

What are you currently working on?

First of all, I would like to announce, if you haven't heard the news by now, that Kam's name will be included on our books from here on out. I wanted to include her name on Have No Mercy, but she asked me not to.

So, to get back to your question, Kam and I are working on Black Rosebud, Have No Mercy II. Once the story was written, we both sat back and laughed. It had to be every bit as long (page wise) as "Gone with the Wind." Several times we have chopped it up, cut it down, and thought it was ready for publishing. Unfortunaely, it's not. So we are still working on it. We also have several other books started which will stay in the Have No Mercy series.

What have you found to be the best way of promoting your book?

Little sleep and hard work (he says with toothpicks holding his eyelids open), and being interviewed by lovely people like you, Annette.

I log in 200 hours a month on the Net. That might not seem like a lot of time to some people, but for this old timer, it is a very long time. I have tried newspaper articles, news releases, magazine ads, postcard mailings, and flyer handouts with to no avail. I've had a couple of TV spots that did absolutely nothing in the way of sales for my book.

The best way I have been able to promote my book is by getting the title (and book cover if I'm lucky), and my name on as many web sites as I can, whether that be by free ads, paid ads, reviewing (which I've been known to do a few), getting reviewed, spotlighted, highlighted, interviewed, joining a membership, or by any means suitable. I also have an excellent web site, thank to my hostess, Tracey, which I'm always working on ways to drive more traffic to it.

And last, but certainly not least, I find on-line groups, such as NUW Not the Usual Way author's group, to be my beam of light in the darkness at times. The NUW members are not only great supporters of each other, but they share promotional tips, advice, and many times someone will come up with a web site I've never heard of which gives me another lead to follow.

And finally, what advice would you give to writers starting out?

I don't think there is anything I can say that hasn't already been said in two-fold by every author that has ever been interviewed. Plus, and let's be honest, I am not a passionate (I have always wanted to be) writer like 99% of the writers/authors I have met over the last 18 months. My fifty cents worth (price of inflation you know) would be to read other writer/author articles on writing, both the pros and the cons, and learn from their experiences. Other than that, if I were to add anything, it would be for the writer to NOT be thick skinned. Learn the difference between someone just being critical, and constructive criticism. Then, when you receive constructive criticism on your work, L-I-S-T-E-N. It truthfully will be to your benefit.

To read more about Bobby and his book, please visit his website at:

www.bobbyruble.com

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