I had my first rejection slip in about 1965. Wish I had saved it. For many years the only writing I did was technical, as pesky things like children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren came along. A lot of what is in my stories is based on my life experiences. One fortunate thing in my career is that I traveled worldwide and have been to most of the locations I write about. I have averaged reading 200 books a year for the last sixty years. I knew those long flights were good for something.