Introduce yourself; who are you and what types of books do you write?
I'm Chuck Storla, a second career author. After three decades working in the computer industry, I finally got around to pursuing my dream of getting published. I would have liked to have been a first career author, but writing novels seldom comes with a 401K, health insurance, and fresh vegetables. Soon after I graduated from college, I let corporate America lure me away from a career in the fine arts or even the average arts.
Once I retired, I started seriously writing while still trying to be funny. My debut humorous mystery, Murder Two Doors Down, came out in October 2025. I write murder mysteries with a healthy amount of satire, set in the suburbs of Atlanta where HOA politics, neighborhood feuds, and concerns about property values occasionally end up with people getting murdered.
Years earlier, I had tested the waters by self-publishing a satirical take on a holiday tradition, Zen and the Art of Christmas Letters. Through that experience I learned two things: books tied to Christmas only sell in November and December, and apparently the only people still sending Christmas letters were all in my extended family. Fortunately, I eventually discovered that murder mysteries can be more fun than annual letters from aunts and uncles.
What is your novel about?
Murder Two Doors Down is a comedic murder mystery set in a suburb of Atlanta. Brad Hanson is the protagonist, which is a fancy word for the main character. He is accused of committing a murder and might or might not be guilty. Either way, he is encouraged to convince the police of his innocence. That's an urgent matter because Georgia retained the death penalty. They did that just to let everyone know that they consider murder to be a serious business and an altogether bad thing unless the government gets to do it.
Brad's day job is as an insurance fraud investigator. Not the kind of investigator that tracks international art thieves, but the kind that makes sure the local body shop is not charging full price for used car parts. Imagining he is a latter-day Sherlock Holmes, he assembles a small team and works to uncover the truth, or at a minimum get his name off the suspect list. The setting for this comedic drama is The Estates of Chestnut Lake, a subdivision that does nothing to earn its impressive name.
What was the inspiration behind writing your book?
The catalyst for my novel was this quote from G.K. Chesterton, “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.”
Based on that insight, I decided the tagline for this novel would be "An HOA Homicide." While I have only good things to say about my HOA (and please tell them that if you happen to meet), I have heard many horror stories of rogue HOA boards and unreasonable homeowners. Every good story needs some level of conflict and passive-aggressive neighbors create as good a conflict as any.
What is the most rewarding part of being an author?
While my midwestern Scandinavian ancestry puts a cap on the amount of pride I am allowed to share, I have to admit that I am very proud to see my book in bookstores and libraries.
What I didn't expect was to find that my book was picked by a half-dozen local book clubs that invited me to join their discussions. I love talking to these groups about what they found humorous in my writing and which characters were their favorites. It never fails that in these discussions, I learn of a few more you-won't-believe-what-happened-in-my-neighborhood stories.
What elements do you think make for a good story?
A good story has to start with interesting characters and place them in conflict so something happens or at least threatens them in some way. Readers need a reason to care about what comes next, whether that comes from suspense, humor, or curiosity.
Finally, words are necessary for a good story though I firmly believe I should only have to open a dictionary to look up a couple of them. 
What is the hardest part of being an author for you?
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome. Many, perhaps most, of the writers I know are not sure their writing is worth the reader's time. It is easy to fall into this because most first drafts are crap. A first draft can be where ideas tumble onto the page and only some of them are worth keeping. The rest needs to be cut or at least refined.
The phrase "writing is 90% editing" seems to be universal, but also frequently forgotten. We look at our first draft and compare it to the finished work of great writers and it can be depressing. What we need to remember is the great writers are usually great editors and probably are being helped by other great editors. What we see as the finished product is probably revision ten or twenty.
In my experience, this is all true but it's easy to forget when every word you place on a page is not a gem. It takes multiple tries to get your work to approach the level you want. I have file folders full of paragraphs that sounded great when I wrote them, but needed to be cut for one reason or another.
Finally, it takes the help of someone with a fresh set of eyes to help you improve it. For me, those fresh eyes come from my critique partners. They point out what isn’t working for them and make suggestions on how to fix it. I do not always take their suggestions, but any time someone stumbles over your words, it highlights an area that might need rework.
What is your current writing project?
Thanks to having the "An HOA Homicide" tagline on my first novel, I felt an obligation to write another story set in the same fictional Atlanta suburb. Multiple people have asked for a sequel and most of them aren't even my relatives. Little do they know I'm keeping a list of everyone who tells me they can't wait for the next book. I consider that a legally nonbinding but morally enforceable commitment to purchase at least one copy.
The new novel returns to The Estates at Chestnut Lake for another mystery involving some of the same residents and a newly formed HOA board. One advantage of writing a sequel in the same setting is I don't need to invent a bunch of new street names. I can also reuse many of the same characters—at least the ones who were still alive at the end of the first book.
What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
I've received a lot of good and some bad advice, but two items stand out. First, when I told a friend I wanted to write a book, he suggested that I join the Atlanta Writers Club and find a critique group. For the last ten years, I have met with the same bunch of writers every Tuesday, with time off for bad behavior. To be completely honest, it hasn't been the same bunch for all that time. Some have left and then others have taken the empty seats. I refer to them as the same bunch because I can't remember everyone's name.
The second valuable bit of advice came from listening to The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing podcast. One of the hosts reminds us that "It only takes one yes." After several years trying to find an agent or publisher interested in a modern workplace satire, I put that manuscript in a drawer. Then, I started writing Murder Two Doors Down, and pitched that book for several years at Atlanta Writers Conferences. I learned from each "I like it but it's not for me" response until I got to the point where an agent and an editor both said "yes." If I'd stopped trying anywhere on that journey, I would never have a book on library and book store shelves. A book that landed a nomination for the Mystery Writers of America’s Lilian Jackson Braun Award and later a nomination for the Georgia Author of the Year for First Novel.
There are moments now and then when I don't even feel like an imposter.
Where can readers discover more about you and your books?
Website: https://www.chuckstorla.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Chuck-Storla/author/B077JJ5CS8
Facebook: facebook.com/chuckstorla.author
Instagram: instagram.com/chuck.storla