It was a relic but he loved it. An old lawn mower, probably made shortly after World War II ended. No fancy motor. No flimsy aluminum. Just a simple lawn mower. His grandfather used it in the 1950s, his father in the 1970s, and now it was his. The handles, after decades of use, worn […]
Something About Cats
Dog person/Cat person? Most of my life I’ve been a dog person, starting with my beloved mutt Pinky. Lassie, a Sheepdog/Poodle mix with a Collie name came with the marriage. Punkin, a mixed Terrier was a stray two wandered into my wife’s classroom. Zindy, a purebred Miniature Poodle was a gift from a friend that […]
Another Historical Fiction
I recently discovered Kate Quinn, author of historical fiction books. Her latest caught my eye, The Alice Network. The story is exciting. She had me at the first sentence, “The first person I met in England was a hallucination.” Though the story held me in its grips throughout, I was especially fascinated at her development […]
Katie’s Ladies and Short Report
Three Lives of Peter Novak continues to sell well and get rave reviews. The book is being shopped as a possible movie or TV segment. Fingers crossed. Katie’s Ladies continues to move toward completion. See the updated first 1,000 words in the previous post. Summary: Katie and Albert Lhormor’s business thrives, making Katie one of […]
Dr. Forgot, A Blast From the Past
I began writing a blog a dozen or so years ago under the name of DrForgot.com. The blog became a tribute to my hometown of Clairton, PA. The odd thing was, at the time of my blogging about my hometown I had not lived in Clairton for more than half a century. Still I found […]
America the Survivor
Thanks to CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Twitter, Facebook, telephone polls, TV pundits and talking heads, and the many other media sources with which we were bombarded we seem to think the recent election is the most controversial presidential election in American history. Take a deep breath, turn off your TV set, power down your computer, […]
Antigonish
Today I’m feeling silly. Maybe it is because of the elections and all the muck and mire they’re raining down upon us. So I will talk about an author from days gone by. His man on the stair can be today’s political season. “Antigonish” is an 1899 poem by American educator and poet William Hughes […]
Damn the Computers, Full Speed Behind
I’m trying to work on the sequel to Three Lives of Peter Novak. The year is 1919. Boys are returning from war and Katie has just been jailed for protesting for women’s right to vote. Wait. A glitch occurs in my word processor. Hope I don’t lose everything I’ve written. I need help. Let me […]
Peter Now Has a Home (several) in England
We recently returned from the annual Historical Novel Society conference in Oxford, England. After the conference, we spend several days in London – our ninth trip to that bustling, vibrant city, but our first in 20 years. First things first: The conference was packed with high quality speakers, including script writers ho’ve written for Downton […]
Closing in on Oxford, Chasing Peter Novak
As mentioned previously, I’m getting really excited about attending the Historical Novel Society annual conference in Oxford, UK. My historical novel, Three Lives of Peter Novak, tells the story of a boy born into abject poverty in 1889 Bosnia, and at age eight, sold into indentured servitude to a German aristocrat. At age 18, his […]
Missing in Action
I try to post regularly but the last week or so got away from me. We lost our cat, Casanova. “Lost” of course, is a euphemism for died. Casanova was my first cat after several dogs. It seems that readers and book lovers are also animal lovers. So, today’s post does not focus on Peter […]