Cameron Bane Finds Inspiration Writing at Home and On the Road

Suspense thriller author Cameron Bane

From a young age the necessity of travel has always been a large part of my life. Therefore I’ve spent a lot of time on the road, in hotel lobbies, airport terminals, train stations, restaurants, and clubs. I’ve always enjoyed meeting people from different cultures and all walks of life. To quote Will Rogers, “I’ve never met a man I didn’t like.” Everything I’ve learned about them has become fodder for my writing. I’ve found inspiration from the South Seas to South America to Saudi Arabia, around the Caribbean, and in whistle stops large and small while driving across America. Mountains, oceans, lakes, waterfalls, forests, and wide open spaces have become equally conducive to creativity and true clarity of thought, but in the end, there’s always home sweet home.

I always keep several number two mechanical pencils—with good erasers—with me, as well as a smallish wire bound notebook and/or a thin, hardback, three-ring black binder filled with wide-ruled notebook paper. That way I can always jot down thoughts, notes, characters, their development, and plot lines as they come to me.

My maple-paneled office contains a U-shaped desk topped with a hutch that my wife gave me years ago as an anniversary gift. I’ll keep it forever. Decorating the walls are a crossed Army officer’s sword and scabbard mounted on a shield-shaped cherry wood plaque, and a large walnut framed original painting of two small fishing boats floating serenely in a calm harbor at sunset. My bookcases are filled with books, and many framed photos of my family of different colors, shapes, and sizes. One of my favorite things besides the family photos is an over six-foot-tall hand-carved Hawaiian monkey pod tri-fold screen. Memorabilia include a large green jade hand-carved mulga wood aboriginal adze, a hexagonal black marble paperweight, and many rocks, minerals, and seashells.

Against the wall is a Hobart M. Cable spinet piano, which I’ve had for many years. When I play it, it centers me.