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Tell us about Hunting With Lawn Darts
The title of my novel is “Hunting With Lawn Darts” and it follows the often-derided nice guy through the urban jungle of Chicago’s downtown dating scene. It is a rare glimpse into the mind of a truly nice guy as he attempts to navigate the dating game in his efforts to find love.

The story follows the struggles of Chad Jordan. It begins just one day following his split with his longtime girlfriend, Stephanie. He now has to venture back into the obscenely unforgiving world of the modern dating. Having spent the last four years sequestered from the single life and with an outlook on courtship that expired about half a century ago, Chad comes to find out that being such a gentle soul, with a preternatural connection to his emotional side, does not necessarily supply him an advantage in finding compatibility. And after a few dates that implode almost as quickly as they begin, an emotionally draining regression into his past, an unexpected amorous ambush by some surprise admirers, and an uncharacteristically slinky hookup that almost unravels every thread of his moral fiber, Chad laments that his fate may have already been sealed by his easy going nature. It is only the most unlikely of refuges that may actually be guiding his monumental struggle to find that special someone…Quite simply, it is a romance story from a male perspective.

So what genre is it?
It is an offbeat romantic comedy.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
It will appeal to women who have often wondered what dating looks like through the eyes of a nice guy. So much is said and written about the “bad boy,” but this story delves into why a nice guy seems to have a difficult time in the dating game. I guess you could say it is a “nice guy exposé.”

Complete this sentence for us: if you like _________________, you’ll love Hunting With Lawn Darts.
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby.

How would you like the reader to feel as they read the last word of Hunting With Lawn Darts?
I would like them to feel the hope that we tend to want after reading any story about perseverance, as well as to feel entertained by a story that fuses emotionalism with humor.

Have you written any other books that we should read next?
Not yet – I have two in the works now: one is about a guy who lets a girl get away knowing only her first name after coincidentally sitting together on a cross-country airplane flight, his frustration further exacerbated by today’s era of social media where almost anybody can track down anybody; the other is about a young, female Marine Lieutenant and her relationship with a civilian guy – namely, his soul searching about a relationship where the “traditional” gender rolls, by some opinions, are reversed.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a pilot in the Marine Corps with publishing credit in professional military journals. I also blogged about my experiences overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008 and 2009, respectively. I currently reside in northern Virginia and continue to work on future writing projects, both for the military and for entertainment. I am hoping to publish those two more novels by the end of 2014.

How can we follow you on Twitter and/or Facebook?
Twitter: @GeoffreyMcKeel.

What’s next?
I am still writing for professional military journals and working on those two other stories…and keeping my day job of flying for right now.

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