Just like the stories themselves, authors have their own story to tell. Local author David Fabio has written several short stories, bi-weekly articles for the Stillwater Gazette, and has also published numerous novels.

Fabio had been in recovery from neck surgery when he got motivation to start writing his first form of literature.

“I wrote a novel for teenage boys with reading problems.  It was a very limited market and as a result, there are very few choices for someone to read.  It was fun to finally put humor and suspense in the novel,” said Fabio.

Once the short story was finished, it soon gained popularity from many young adult readers and desired Fabio to publish more of his works. In 2006, he published the story along with two others in the series. After the publications of these stories, Fabio decided it was time for him to start writing novels for adults.

While beginning to write novels, it is a hard task to find out what the story will be about and how the author will approach the plot and its characters.

“It is a lot of work,” said Fabio, “However, if you spend time writing, there is always an idea floating around in your mind that has the possibilities of a novel.”

Fabio has recently released his newest book, ‘The Lost Jewels’, this past February, while it had taken him nearly a year to write and was declared finished during November of last year. Once the novels are finished being written, the publishing process is another stepping stone to getting it to the hands of readers. “I use Avid Readers Publishing Group because of the ease I have in submitting the book to the publisher,” said Fabio.

‘The Lost Jewels’ takes place in two time periods, starting off during the Great Depression in the 1930’s and skipping ahead to modern day. During the Great Depression, people across the United States were selling everything they had to simply survive; which is the base plot of this novel.

“When three drifters bring in a bag of jewels to a jewelry store [during the Great Depression] in an attempt to sell them, flags are raised. Where did they get the jewels? Did they steal them?” explained Fabio.

Following the drifters entering the jewelry store, the story jumps to modern today. The challenging part about writing in main characters is keeping them in the spotlight and having the story go forward.

“The lead character discovers a letter written to her great grandfather from a long lost relative.  The letter, also written in the 1930’s, indicated that the relative was in imminent danger.  In a desperate attempt to notify his brother, he tells the tale of losing his ranch and anticipating being robbed,” said Fabio.

Finding how the main character fit was difficult for Fabio because, “to pull off the story, I needed a very independent female lead that could wander off and investigate a story.  A history teacher that was looking for a job fit the image.  Marry her off to a person that worked for the Kansas City Cold Case Group, and you had the fixing for curiosity and investigating methods.”