Today we’d like to introduce you to Larry Enmon.
Hi Larry, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I retired from the U.S. Secret Service, where I acted as liaison between the USSS and FBI, working in the Joint Terrorism Task Force. I received training from the CIA in the investigation and production of weapons of mass destruction. After retirement, I wanted to try my hand at writing, so I wrote my debut novel, The Burial Place. Since then, I authored six crime/mysteries and suspense/thrillers.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing in the publishing industry is ever smooth. While I might write a book every six to nine months, the industry slows the process. Literary agents, editors, and publishers are all struggling to keep up, but everyone realizes you can’t rush something through and still have a good product. Realistically, it takes most books at least a year from inception to release.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I had the dream job that many people fantasize about. I traveled the United States and the world, carried a diplomatic passport, and mingled with wealthy political elites. I stayed in five-star hotels, dined in expensive restaurants, and attended historical events. I also carried a gun, sometimes a submachine gun, had a black belt in karate, and was in perfect physical condition. I was a U.S. Secret Service agent.
Near the end of my career, I was assigned to work as an agency liaison agent to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Dallas. A year after I started my new assignment, 911 happened, and everything changed. I was assigned to the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction investigative team. This assignment required me to attend numerous FBI and CIA schools relating to WMD.
I have enjoyed reading thrillers my whole life. After retirement, I reflected that I had either traveled to, experienced, or been trained in much of the same stuff I was reading about in books. This led me to my writing career. Many of the fictional characters, plots, and situations in my books are drawn from my own experiences. I had Top Secret/SCI clearance during my working years, so I must tread lightly when writing. Several investigations and programs I worked on can’t be released to the public for 20 or more years.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Many people today are too restless and impatient to write. They don’t want to learn the craft and assume writing is easy. Writing is easy, but good writing is tough. Most people aren’t born with the instincts and knowledge of a great writer, but these can be learned if you take the time. The more you read, the better writer you become.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://larry-enmon.com
- Instagram: @LarryEnmon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larryenmonbooks/
- Twitter: @LarryEnmon
