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PROVENANCE OF EACH NOVEL IN THE WHEN HEROES FLEW SERIES—PART II
This blog is a continuation of the one I posted last week about the background of each of my WHEN HEROES FLEW novels. DOWN A DARK ROAD This novel, strictly speaking, isn’t part of the WHEN HEROES FLEW series, but it is closely related. Unlike my other WWII historical fiction books, the protagonist in this…
Read MorePROVENANCE OF EACH NOVEL IN THE WHEN HEROES FLEW SERIES—PART I
Provenance is just a fancy word for “origin” or “history.” I’m thinking my use of it makes me sound more authorial and learned. You’re probably thinking it makes sound like a jerk. Okay, let’s call it a draw. But I’ll give a brief background of each novel anyhow. WHEN HEROES FLEW This novel, my first…
Read MoreAT LEAST I DIDN’T WAKE UP IN CHINA
I had a strange dream a few nights ago. A really strange dream—unlike any I’d ever had before. Up until that particular night, the dreams I had always involved people I knew or had known. And they usually took place in locations with which I was familiar. But on the night of my bizarre fantasy,…
Read MoreI WISH I WERE A BETTER WRITER
For reasons I can’t explain, or even understand, my recent visit to southeastern Alaska’s Misty Fjords triggered a deep emotional response within me. My wife Barbara urged me to write about it before my feelings became lost in my own mists of memory. So I did. I wish I were a better writer. I wish…
Read MoreWORLD WAR II AND THE ROCK GROUP “KISS”
It’s surprising, amazing even, the links to today that can snake unexpectedly out of the past. One such connection revealed itself to me as I worked on my new novel DOWN A DARK ROAD. The focus of the novel is based on true events—the discovery of a Nazi death camp, Gunskirchen Lager, in Austria near…
Read MoreBIRTHDAYS, DYSLEXIA, GUARDIAN ANGELS, AND FAIRY TALES
You’d think after eight decades I would have figured it out. But here I am, on my 28th birthday and I realize I’m dyslexic. Which, of course, works to my advantage when it comes to birthdays. Maybe I really am 28. At least my mind thinks so even if my body doesn’t. In truth, when…
Read MoreTHE “BALLOON BLOWERS” OF WWII
For those of you familiar with my background, it shouldn’t surprise you that there’s an element of weather history in my newest novel, WHEN HEROES FLEW: THE ROOF OF THE WORLD. In addition to telling the WWII tale of the men who flew the India-China flight path over the Himalaya Mountains in the worst weather…
Read MoreA REAL-LIFE FAIRY TALE: THE EPILOGUE
I don’t know if fairy tales are supposed to have epilogues. But since it’s my fairy tale, I get to make the rules. Epilogues allowed. Exactly one year ago today, as I stumbled into my ninth decade of drawing breaths on this planet, I wrote a blog with my views on growing old. I allowed…
Read MoreTHE FAIRY TALE CONTINUES–BARBARA AND BUZZ
The fairy tale continues. The rise of what I like to think of as Schloss Bernard, my new writer’s studio—my castle—signals the beginning of a new phase of my life. I have a few weeks remaining in Georgia before I, and my Shih-Tzu buddy, Stormy, wing our way west to where the freshly-minted Mrs. Bernard,…
Read MoreBARBARA AND BUZZ—A REAL-LIFE FAIRY TALE
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, where gray mists hid the tops of green forests, and deep snows crowned the sawtoothed peaks of rugged mountains, a young girl spotted a young boy. “He’s different,” she said. “I want to get to know him.” She did, and for a brief time they…
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