Off the Deep End: The Impact of Passion on Creative Work

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April 24, 2023
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By Susan Rogers and John Roosen, Authors of the Yoga Mat Mysteries series

We often find that being outdoors helps us work on difficult parts of our book writing. We’re two writers, who have come together in a single voice to create the Yoga Mat Mysteries series. But we are also two radically different people; each passionate in our own fields of expertise and thought processes.

Susan used to train military personnel how to shoot straight in a field training programme. John is highly skilled at eradicating all sorts of hazardous materials incidents safely. What do we have in common?

Besides both being designated law enforcement officers, we’ve written Dead Man’s Pose and Cobra Pose … together. But we often come at it from completely different perspectives.

John started his career as a biologist, served as a commissioned naval officer and environmental emergency specialist in the United States, and has lived and worked in Australasia, Antarctica, and the Middle East. At a moment’s notice, he would respond to chemical and refinery plant explosions, deal with rocket fuel plant meltdowns and dismantle illegal drug labs.

As a changeup, John switched careers to chasing pirates and duelling with a con artist extraordinaire on a remote South Pacific island. In between, he organised jungle expeditions and deep-sea scuba diving. However, John’s experience extends beyond responding to cataclysmic disasters and includes mastering the intricacies of making soufflé omelettes without burning the edges.

Susan already knew she was a writer at age six. As an adult, her life took a major detour when she became a commissioned naval officer. She conducted sting operations, ran extensive weapons training programmes and directed the restoration of a Presidential yacht.

In between, she has authored several books, managed health and safety operations for multi-billion-dollar projects in Abu Dhabi and revamped a South Pacific maritime service. Susan continues to write: whether braced against the hull of a sailing vessel on a hard tack, during a crossing of the Middle East’s empty quarter in a Mini, or bouncing around in a troop carrier in Australia’s outback.

We often do a lot of idea-crafting in Australia and New Zealand. Imagine us sitting together under a cabana on Tahunanui Beach, Nelson, New Zealand. In one instance we were sorting out the intricate parts of the plot for Tree Pose, the third book in our series. Tahunanui Beach is a favourite spot with its long white swatch of sand next to the Tasman Bay. The beach is also shallow with very slow-moving tidal action. One can plant an umbrella or beach towel in single spot and never move it during the day.

Often, we bring a table and two chairs to the beach. It is sort of our ‘home’ away from home. When we’re working on plot development, we can refer to texts or references or draw diagrams and maps. We have been known to pick up shells nearby and re-create specific scenes by moving them around on the table or draw out the action in the sand using nearby sticks.

At the crucial moment in Tree Pose, there is a complex scene that required our focused concentration. And, well… we were juxtaposed on how to handle it. The world around us faded and we were concentrating on two different points of view in a spirited jousting match. Did we feel the tide coming up? Sort of. But who is going to give up their position, to a little lapping tide where there is an important point to be made.

It was only when we saw a group of people taking pictures of us that we thought of moving. But by then, the amusing situation had caught the attention of local tourist group passing by and the Tour Guide pointing to us, said loudly:

“And this is an example that time and tide waits for no one. Including writers!”

And who won the argument on the crisis scene? You’ll have to read the series. Most often, we use a cocktail shaker with the ideas floating around. We shake the two spirited moments together and pour out the action, including the fizz!

About the Authors

What do a woman, who used to train military personnel how to shoot straight, and a man, skilled at eradicating all sorts of hazardous materials safely, have in common? Besides both being designated law enforcement officers, they have now written two ‘knock ’em dead’ books … together!

John Roosen started his career as a biologist, served as a commissioned naval officer and environmental emergency specialist in the United States, and has lived and worked in Australasia, Antarctica and the Middle East. At a moment’s notice, he would respond to chemical and refinery plant explosions, deal with rocket fuel plant meltdowns and dismantle illegal drug labs. As a change-up, John switched careers to chasing pirates and duelling with a con artist extraordinaire on a remote South Pacific island. In between, he organised jungle expeditions and deep-sea scuba diving. However, John’s experience extends beyond responding to cataclysmic disasters and includes mastering the intricacies of making soufflé omelettes without burning the edges.

Susan Rogers already knew she was a writer at age six, but as an adult she took a major detour in becoming a commissioned naval officer. She has conducted sting operations, run extensive weapons training programs and directed the restoration of a Presidential yacht. In between, she has written several books, run health and safety operations for multi-billion-dollar projects in Abu Dhabi and revamped a South Pacific maritime service. Susan continues to write: whether braced against the hull of a sailing vessel on a hard tack, during a crossing of the Middle East’s empty quarter in a Mini, or bouncing around in a troop carrier in Australia’s outback.

After writing Surviving Paradise about their life in the South Pacific, John and Susan hatched their mystery series. Dead Man’s Pose is first in the Yoga Mat Mysteries’ line-up, with Cobra Pose as the second in the YMM series. Next will be Tree Pose – coming soon!