to meet?
A: I would love to meet Martin Luther
King, Jr. because he always tried to
bring peace to everyone regardless of
your race.
Q: If someone asked you to give them
your best piece of advice, what would
you say?
A: The best advice I can give is to
take advantage of every opportunity
that you get and refuse to fail.
Q: Who in your life has influenced
you the most? How?
A: I cannot pick just one person
because I’ve been very fortunate to
have some great people in my life.
From teachers, coaches, administrators and also my parents.
Q: What would you most like to be
remembered for?
A: I would like to be remembered for
being a person with very high character. The opinion of other people
means a lot to me.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Marc Otte (Cameron)
Retired from the U.S. Marshals
Service and now a full-time
novelist. The sixth book in
his USA Today bestselling
Jericho Quinn series will be
released in January 2016.
Q: What is your favorite book?
A: Kim, by Rudyard Kipling.
Q: When you were a child, what did
you want to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be in law enforcement
and write books. Our first year of
marriage (when I was a young patrol
officer with Weatherford PD) my wife
gave me two gifts: A bulletproof vest
and an electric typewriter.
JANUARY 2016
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
Q: What accomplishment are you
most proud of?
A: Our three children — two sons
and one daughter — though you
could argue that my wife had more to
do with the way they turned out.
Q: Are you married? How did you
meet your spouse?
A: Yes. I met Victoria at college when
we were both studying theater and
were in several plays together. She’s
a middle school teacher and writes
and directs her own plays.
Q: How did you get into your field?
A: I started with Weatherford Police
Department in 1984 and worked
there just shy of seven years, serving on patrol, investigations and as
one the first mounted patrol officers. Some of my best memories
(are) of those days and I use many
of the characters and situations in
my books. In 1991, I was hired as a
deputy U.S. marshal. I was with the
106
U.S. Marshals for 22 years, serving
as a deputy in Texas and in Idaho
along the Canadian border. The
last 15 years of my career I spent in
Alaska as a Judicial Security Inspector
specializing in dignitary and judicial protection, and finally as Chief
Deputy. Law enforcement allowed
me a nearly endless number of characters and situations to draw from
when I started to write. I started my
writing career as a ghost writer, writing for an established novelist, then
eventually got my own books and
short stories published.
Q: Would you recommend your
career for other people? Why?
A: I am extremely blessed to have
been able to pursue both of my
dream careers. Both jobs require
observation of the human condition.
Neither is for everyone, but they have
both served me well and been loads
of fun.
Q: What do you do to relax?
A: I do quite a bit of long-range
shooting with my youngest son (who
is also in law enforcement). My wife
and I love to sail, especially in Prince
William Sound here in Alaska.
Q: If you could go back in history,
who is the one person you would like
to meet?
A: Theodore Roosevelt. He wasn’t
perfect by any stretch, but he was
certainly an interesting man. Like
him, I am a big proponent of living
the “strenuous life.” Plus, we could
talk writing, box, and hunt.
Q: If you could visit any place in the
world, where would you go?
A: I wanted to live in Alaska from the
time I was very young. We’ve lived
here for 18 years now and I’ve been
fortunate to have traveled all over
the state with my job, often feeling
like I’ve stepped into the pages of
a National Geographic magazine.
That said, my wife and I love visiting
the South Pacific, specifically the
Cook Islands. Rarotonga is our go-to
dream spot and we’re always making
plans to go back.
Q: Who in your life has influenced
you the most? How?
A: My wife says it’s James Bond (and
some who knew me at Weatherford
High School might tend to agree),
but it was really my maternal grandmother. A school teacher, she was
widowed when I was still a baby and
retired by the time I was in middle
school. A fearless woman who traveled all over the world, she instilled
in me a love of service, reading, and
adventurous road trips to faraway
places.