Particularly impressive about Winchester is that he is a first-time author with little reading background and even less of a writing background. He simply decided one day that he wanted to “spin a good yarn.” Despite these obstacles, he is proud of the tale he constructed, and he yearns to write more books.
In Dex’s life outside writing, he has two college degrees (University of Delaware and Neumann University) yet he makes his daily wage as a real estate agent. Dex does, however, credit his college experiences and the many excellent people he’s met along the way with molding him into the man he’s become. In his spare time, he treasures his time spent with family, and he enjoys hanging out with friends, vacationing, and occasionally hacking it up on the golf course.
‘A Summer in Doubt’ is an epic adventure, what was your inspiration for this thrilling story?
I can’t say that I had any one specific inspiration to write this tale. It originally started with me purely wanting to write a book that took place in a setting that I could really enjoy. I did know that I wanted it to be a tale of adventure, and thought a mysterious setting would be great.
The bayou provided that essence for me. Everything about bayous captivates me, from the birds to the trees, and on down to the creatures that lurk beneath the surface. That setting can be found throughout the American South, but the culture and the people of Louisiana made it the clear backdrop choice for my story.
You are brilliant at creating compelling characters, of all the characters in your book, which one is your favorite, and why?
This question is interesting to me because it is the one question that I ask anyone that has read my book. My favorite character is Fergie. I generally enjoy talking to anyone older than me because I’m almost guaranteed to learn something new. Fergie, in his wisdom, was crafted after these people. He’s a kind, caring, father figure sort for the boys while they’re away from their families. I also love people that seem to defy time. I did what I could to paint Fergie as being in great shape, and having the appearance of a much younger man.
When you did the final read-through for ‘A Summer in Doubt’ what was your favorite part of the book, and why?
Oddly enough, I don’t have a favorite part of the book. It was my goal to make it a bit of a roller coaster ride with a lot of peaks. I delight in the characters and their dialogue as much as anything.
Let’s change it up a bit -if you could have any superpower what would it be and why?
Ahhh, the age-old superpower question. We’ve all had this conversation with countless people. I always give a narrow win to invisibility in these discussions. It provides the ultimate great escape in all sorts of situations; from avoiding the person at the grocery store that is guaranteed to talk your ear off, on down to avoiding a perilous situation.
‘A Summer in Doubt’ was such an epic read do you have another book in the works?
By my estimates, I’m roughly a quarter of the way done a book for an older audience that is set in my hometown. I don’t currently know if Dex Winchester is the author though. It may be a different guy entirely, given the stark contrast in subject material.
His book A Summer in Doubt is available on Amazon.
