My son-in-law Chris hinted that he’d love his name to be used for a character in one of my books. At first thought, it might be fun to do and a surprise for him. But now that I’m in the middle of my eighth novel, a suspense, the idea becomes a more serious matter. Nam...
My parents gave me a book called Lost Treasure Trails by Thomas Penfield when I was twelve years old. I was enthralled, fascinated, intrigued. The chapters covered buried and sunken treasures and lost mines. I loved it.
That year when we visited the Florida Keys, I in...
One reason for the Beatles’ success, I read somewhere, was the many, many hours they spent as a back-up band and working small gigs. This gave them the practice to hone their ability and produce the professional polish to reach worldwide success.
Authors like us enjoy telling people about our books, sharing experiences with the people who come by, hearing from those who have read and enjoyed our books, and connecting with other writers and publishers.
Diogenes, an early Greek philosopher of the Cynic school, was known for holding up a lantern in people’s faces and claiming he was looking for an honest man. I may not carry a lantern, but I’m always looking for is a good conversation.
In The Last Day of Ramadan by Gandharva raja, a new novel by Gandharva raja, university student Gora and his friends in Delhi, India, are bystanders as Kabir Jain, a professor of comparative religion, carries out his mission to end religious violence and close the rel...
Yesterday, my daughter Lorien graduated from the Howard County (MD) Police Academy as an auxiliary police officer. This is a volunteer position but mandates a uniform, adherence to policies and procedures, training in CPR and other skills. As an auxiliary police office...
I recently visited Providence, Rhode Island, which has been “weird since 1636,” according to my grandson’s T-shirt. Providence was founded in 1636 by renegade preacher Roger Williams, who was forced to flee Massachusetts because of religious persecution. Williams purc...
My brother, Larry Haavik, is a fine musician who defines music as an “adventure for the ear.” I recently attended his two lectures on the history of jazz. He talked about how from
the earliest times, people have used sticks, animal skins and other materials to make mus...
Doing research for a novel can involve more than history books, archives, and the other usual resources for honing details of terrain, lifestyle, time. What about describing emotions, personality, and the intangible nuances?
