Posts Tagged ‘novels’
AT 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 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 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 SHANGRI-LA RAIDERS, APRIL 2, 1942
Today, April 2, 2021, marks the 79th anniversary of the beginning of one of the most remarkable adventures in U.S. military history: the bombing raid on Tokyo, Japan, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle. The attack, battling horrendous odds against its success, became legendary in the annals of WWII history. Bombs were not actually dropped…
Read MoreI’M 80, I’M OLD—SOME ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS
First of all, please allow me to slip in an update about my newest novel. When Heroes Flew: The Shangri-La Raiders is on track to be released July 13. It’s a captivating tale of bravery, determination, and an unlikely love set against the legendary Jimmy Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in 1942. Next, since I published…
Read MoreWHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VA . . . STAYCATION
It’s been a rough year for me—in truth, for everyone—and I decided I really needed to get away from it all. I needed a vacation. Unfortunately, that little virus thingy dictated that the v-a part of the “cation” word be substituted with s-t-a-y. Stay? Nope, not me. Why let a trivial matter like a pandemic…
Read MoreWHEN I GROW TOO OLD TO DREAM
As I trudge down the road of life, passing through the Geezerhood Gates onto a shorter, steeper trail, I find myself more often glancing behind me as opposed to looking ahead. I say this not to be maudlin—for I’m sure it is a view all of us of a certain age hold—but as a mere…
Read MoreWAFS and WASPs
I have to admit, while I was writing When Heroes Flew (nee Oregon Grinder) I was apprehensive over whether a female character flying a combat mission with U.S. Army Air Forces in WWII would be well received. In reality, that kind of thing just didn’t happen. At least in our army. Purists, I feared, might…
Read MoreHOW BEING A WRITER IS LIKE BEING A QUARTERBACK ON A BAD TEAM
Those of you who’ve been in the writing business for awhile and have attempted to get traditionally published know what a discouraging, demeaning, difficult challenge that is. It’s like being a quarterback on a football team with a porous offensive line. You know you’re going to get sacked frequently. Only in the book business, you…
Read MoreB-24s AND LUFTWAFFE PILOTS
It’s been awhile since I’ve written a blog, mainly because I feel the the media universe has become super-saturated with them. Same thing with author newsletters and books in general. So I’ll understand if only a few people ever read this. But I thought I’d blather briefly about what I’ve begun working on while novel…
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