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Thursday, August 16, 2001
The hole story
Local novelist spins tale of murder, intrigue with a sprinkle of South Texas flavor in 'Texas Donuts'
By Leanne Libby
Caller-Times

George Gongora/Caller-Times

Skip Douden's novel 'Texas Donuts' was a natural extension of his first book. 'My first book ends with the villain eating a doughnut. In this book, he moves to Padre Island, opens a doughnut shop and stops killing people.' Douden's dog, Canyon, appears in the novel.

Skip Douden's novel "Texas Donuts" opens in a donut shop on North Padre Island. As readers turn the pages, they will find themselves in familiar territory, including Shoreline Drive and Flour Bluff. Peter "Quakey" Aspen and his wife, Clarita, run a chain of doughnut shops featuring a popular Lone Star-shaped pastry. When a group Douden calls "a band of vicious women" try to rob the Padre branch of the store, Quakey, a former assassin, shoots first and gets asked a lot of questions later.
   To make matters worse, an evil British company is threatening a hostile takeover of the doughnut company.
   While Douden didn't hesitate to make a doughnut the hero of his second mystery novel, he took great pains to ensure there aren't any holes in his stories.
   Douden is a retired chairman of a design company and former president of the Art Center of Corpus Christi. He said he plots out a design for his whodunit books much like he designed many other projects at work and home.
   From painting to print
   The Padre Island resident, who is also an avid painter, dusted off some short stories he had written 10 years earlier, which became the basis for his first book, "Ithaca Diablo."
   While his books are not a series, Douden said the idea for "Texas Donuts" was a natural extension of his first book.
   "My villains and heroes are never all good or all bad," he said. "My first book ends with the villain eating a doughnut. In this book, he moves to Padre Island, opens a doughnut shop and stops killing people."
   While Douden's crime stories take readers to places around the globe, he likes the South Texas setting for home base.
   "It's a place in Texas that's romantic and interesting, and the sea is here to add new dimension to the plot," he said. "Yet, it's a little bit mysterious too."
   Sketching a story
   Each book takes about two and a half years from start to finish, and he may rewrite a story as many as seven times before he's satisfied.
   Along the way, Douden relies on honest friends to look at his drafts and make suggestions. His neighbor John Fronko generally gets the first crack at works in progress.
   Fronko's sharp eyes are just what a bleary-eyed writer needs. In one case, for example, he caught Douden repeating himself.

George Gongora/Caller-Times

Skip Douden self-published his latest book 'Texas Donuts.'

   "In ('Texas Donuts'), for example, the guy shoots a girl," Fronko said. "Skip investigated every angle of the arrest process, and described it. But when there's another shooting later in the book, he went through all that again. I suggested something like having the guy just say, 'Oh, here we go again.'"
   From manuscript to book
   After sending his manuscript to several publishing houses without any luck, Douden turned to self-publishing. He was able to use his design skills and include his own illustrations.
   "It was fun, and I learned a lot about publishing," Douden said. "We printed 500 books."
   Terry Sherrell, a customer representative and book designer for Morgan Printing in Austin, where Douden published his book, said self-publishing is a good avenue for self-motivated writers.
   "This is for anyone who feels they want to take on the marketing and distribution of their book," Sherrell said. "A lot of people feel like they also get a better return by doing it this way."
   Authors who choose a publishing house might see as little as $1 profit per book, Sherrell said, while a self-published author might make as much as $10 per book in direct sales.
   Douden said he shelled out $4,000 for the publishing process, as well as other fees for necessities like shipping and hiring a proofreader. He makes a few dollars here and there from book sales, but he says making a profit isin't the point.
   "I'm doing it because the greatest pleasure in the world for me is to hear somebody say they read it and it was a good time," he said. "That recognition makes it all worthwhile."


Contact Leanne Libby at 886-3615 or libbylx@caller.com

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