The thriller concept rolled around in Richard's head for 16 years before finally gelling in a single momentous hour, as he watched a World War II documentary about Japan on the Discovery Channel. He distinctly remembers turning off the hotel television and running to Powell’s Book Store in Portland to start the research.

During the 15 months it took Richard to write the first draft of COLLECTOR OF SECRETS, he was a “road warrior” --- flying around the U.S., managing software implementations --- so the majority of the book was penned on airplanes and in small towns throughout Oregon, Texas, Florida and every place in between.

Near the completion of the first draft, he spent a month revisiting Japan. Richard's journey from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south allowed me to visit the book’s actual locations. Some he had written from memory and some were new to him, but almost every place mentioned, from the ancient capital of Nara to the glittering streets of Tokyo, is real and true.

The following year was spent editing and contemplating how he'd get a publisher to read the manuscript. Over dinner, Keren Taylor of Writegirl.org fame encouraged Richard to “go for it” and attend the 2008 Agentfest event in New York --- which was only days away! A mad scramble followed. He hired a graphic designer to put up a website, had partial manuscripts printed, created a short pitch for the agents and was on a plane ten days later.

All this activity finally led to the moment when Jennifer Weltz of the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency got hold of the manuscript. Evidently she liked what she read, as Richard signed an Agent’s Agreement on September 29.

Books by Richard Goodfellow

Collector of Secrets

by Richard Goodfellow - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Max Travers, an English teacher in Japan, wants out, as his manipulative boss, Yoko, is trying to swindle the unsuspecting parents of his students. Desperate to seize his locked-up passport, he sneaks into Yoko's office in the middle of the night only to surprise the Japanese mafia's burglary in progress. Escaping with his life, Max is on the run from tattooed Yakuza, the Japanese police, and a mysterious American named Lloyd Elgin, who seems to have ties in high places. All are after the leather book Max grabbed instead of his passport.