Jan Whitford's Mystic Island, a comic, romantic tale with historical overtones, unfolds from the perspective of a strong female lead. The author, a guy, says that the book even inches toward "chick lit." How did he write such a convincing woman protagonist? With a little help from his friends.

Jan Evan Whitford originally hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico. After active duty in the Marine Corps Reserve, he got his B.A. at the University of New Mexico and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he worked as a cartographer for the Defense Mapping Agency.

Now semi-retired, Jan writes novels and pitches them as equal parts mystery, romance, and humor. Some of his short humor pieces have been published in magazines and newspapers. Mystic Fear, the second in Jan's Nikki O'Connor mystery series, follows on the heels of Mystic Island, which was released by Hilliard and Harris Publishing in June of 2005.

Join Jan and Writing Show host Paula B. as we explore:

* Why he alternates between third- and first-person points of view

* Why he decided to make his main character a woman

* How he manages to get inside a woman character's head so convincingly

* How he choreographed his hurricane

* How he was able to make every detail of the hurricane so realistic

* How he dealt with the issue of putting words in a historical figure's mouth (or pen)

* How he managed to surprise the reader at the end without contrivance

* What "snake hands" are and why you should care.