When Dean Fulcher's 10th-grade teacher in Munising, Mich., asked him whether he had considered a writing career, he blew it off to pursue his dream of joining the Marines and becoming a police officer.
But Mr. Lamberg's question lingered in the back of his mind for two decades, and now Fulcher has joined the dozens of officers who have turned to the keyboard to solve fictional crimes as novelists.
The Santa Ana homicide detective wrote "The Grand Island Adventure" for teenage readers as a way to escape the grimmer side of his profession.
"We deal with the ultimate pain families go through," said Fulcher, a cop for 17 years and a Coto de Caza resident. "It gets depressing."
Although Fulcher, 40, had thought for years about writing a story for his sons, the final push came when his older son started reading a racy novel.
Wanting to produce a book free of vulgarity and sex, the detective worked into the early-morning hours for four months to write the 238-page novel he describes as "the Hardy Boys meet Nancy Drew."
The story is about three teenagers -- two brothers and a girl -- who are trapped on Grand Island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula during a severe storm. Their adventure begins when they come across criminals who had aided the escape of their leader, who had been sentenced to life in prison for murdering a teenager.
"He committed the crime for no other reason than to bolster his despicable reputation amongst the criminal circles in which he ran," Fulcher writes.
Because the story emphasizes the importance of family, friendship and religious faith, Fulcher took the book to Tate Publishing, an Oklahoma company specializing in Christian-themed books. He hopes the novel will bolster moral values in those who read it.
The book includes numerous religious references. Before jumping into a lake to escape, the three teenagers recite their favorite Bible verses. Another time, a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant, originally from Santa Ana, thanks God for helping him and his crew survive a helicopter journey in a violent storm.
Fulcher paid Tate $3,900 to publish and market the book. He receives royalties on sales, and if the book sells 5,000 copies in a year -- an unlikely prospect for a beginning novelist -- Tate will reimburse him the $3,900.
Fulcher's 14-year-old son has read half the book, and his 11-year-old son is almost finished.
"The young one thought it was good, but he still likes Lemony Snicket better," he said with a laugh.
