# Please introduce yourself and your book(s)!
I’m Jim Bowering and I began writing novels for keeps after I retired.
During my working life I have been an aerological observer, an air traffic controller and a vessel traffic regulator, along with other minor occupations. I have always had a way with words so I always thought I should write. I spent the last five years of my working life laying the groundwork for my novel Green Comet, then the first three years of my retirement writing it. The only reason I had for doing it was to see if I could write a reasonable novel. It turned out I could, and Green Comet was well received. Inspired by Nina Paley and the Creative Commons licensing of her animated movie, Sita Sings the Blues, I decided to release Green Comet under a CC-BY-SA license. That’s a really good movie, by the way, and I recommend looking it up and downloading it. I had no intention of writing any more novels, but I did start writing extensions to Green Comet, and they ended up becoming another two books, completing the Green Comet trilogy. All those books are free to download and share, along with their audiobooks. I invite you to do so and to tell all your friends to do the same. The books that are under normal copyright and not free to download are listed on the Books for Sale page on the Green Comet website.
# What are the biggest mistakes you can make in a book?
Trying to be clever and using too many exclamation points.
# How has your creation process improved over time?
Incrementally, as I gain experience. The more I write, the more I can see how other authors write, and what works for them.
# How do you deal with creative block?
Fortunately, I haven’t experienced that yet. It seems if I can get one good sentence then I’m good for the day.
# Do you have any creativity tricks?
No tricks. I just write first thing in the morning on my working days, before any distractions can intrude.
# What are your plans for future books?
I’m halfway through one now. It has a contemporary terrestrial setting, which is a departure from the previous two trilogies. It remains to be seen if this one will grow into a trilogy, be a singleton, or even turn into a longer series. As of now, it looks as if I’ll be writing novels indefinitely.
Link to free books: https://greencomet.org/downloads/