Life

Hartford man pens 3 books in 5 years

HARTFORD -- Mucking out horse stalls and selling insurance was hardly the preparation to become an investment adviser, private security agent or peace officer trainer, but according to Doug Emery, all those jobs and interests contributed to his becoming a writer.

Emery, 62, grew up in Champion and graduated from Champion High School in 1982. After graduation, he decided to go into the insurance business with his father.

"It was that or join the Army and I didn't like the idea of taking orders from a drill sergeant," he said.

However, he admitted he did have to take orders from his dad.

Today, Emery owns his own investment counseling firm, The Emery Agency. He is also very involved in armed security. About 10 years ago, he became state licensed in armed security and started Belltower Security in 2020.

Along with his staff of 12 investigators who have armed security clearance, he actively takes part in investigations, guarding situations and other conditions that require armed guards.

Emery also founded North Coast Peace Officer Training Foundation in 2015 to "enhance and support local law enforcement agencies in continuous training of officers to respond in an ever-changing dynamic and demanding environment." This training is offered to peace officers at no cost to them or their departments. The foundation is funded by donations.

Calling it his "hobby farm" in Hartford, Emery said he raises sheep and horses, hunts, and writes, which he said is a balance for his work life as an investment counselor and security guard and trainer.

Emery has published three books since 2021. He got his start in writing with an article for "The Decoy Hunter." Emery said he authored the article about a duck decoy he had found, submitted it to the magazine, "and they gave me money for it," he said.

He said he wrote a specific piece about Custer's Last Stand in 2011.

"I was struck by the movements of the men and thought 'at what point do you realize you are not going home,'" he said.

Now that he is an established author, Emery said he feels that writing "differs from marketing or selling. For me, it's a personal release."

He said it became important to him to "get things out of me" by recording in the books his experiences in the security guard business. He quickly pointed out that the books are fiction and events are not real but inspired by some of his experiences.

Emery added that he does not name the characters in the books after any real people he knows.

"Sometimes I will be writing, and I will think 'this guy reminds me of someone, but I evaluate it and change the fictional individual and the circumstances so no one would identify that character with any person."

Emery published his first book, "Close Follow" in November of 2021. He said he started composing the book during COVID-19.

"There wasn't much else to do, and I liked the process of writing, so I started," he said. He noted that the book is written in first person and is for guys in the tactical world. He explained he used acronyms that people in the security world would understand.

Emery said it took about a year for him to write "Close Follow" and about 18 to 20 months to write the second book of the series, "Cleared Hot," which was published in 2023.

His third book in the Trevor McGowen series, "Into the Black," was published in January. He said the books are not gory, but they depict real life situations involving ransoms, stalking, close personal protection and other dangerous conditions. He said the books all feature "high adventure to make it worthy of reading."

"I force time into my life to write," Emery said about squeezing it in between all his other responsibilities, noting he does not have a schedule or a specific time blocked out to write.

Emery displayed the file he keeps with ideas and quotes, what he calls "my file of thoughts." And although he writes his books on a computer, Emery said he carries a little tablet everywhere.

"I write my ideas freehand in that notebook whenever the idea comes to me," he said.

All the Trevor McGowen books by Emery are available through Amazon, Kindle, Audible and his website, https://www.dougemeryauthor.com/.

The North Coast Peace Officer Training Foundation, which has a 501(c)3 nonprofit designation, "brings real world training to local law enforcement."

Talking about the peace officers who partake of the training, Emery noted, "I get to do armed security; these people have to do it -- it's their job."

He added the no-cost training for officers helps build camaraderie and skills.

Emery said he is "proud of the law enforcement training, it's a wonderful course," but he credited the people who are part of the training.

"I couldn't do any of this without help, specialized people, experts who donate their time to be part of the training," he said.

Emery lives with his wife, Melissa, and their daughters in Hartford. He is in the process of writing his fourth book, which is not yet titled. He said he "had" to write this book.

"I had repetitive dreams, a series of freaky dreams that made me not want to go to bed," he said.

His wife, a mental health therapist, encouraged him to write about the dreams, saying, "they won't hurt you if you write them." Emery said he wrote pages and pages about the dreams that figure prominently in his next book. He said he has not had the dreams since.

The moral of the story, according to Emery, is "always listen to your wife."