Blog#1, November 9th, 2018

After a hiatus of over a year for a family medical emergency, Erin and I decided to re-vamp the website and start with a new series of blogs.  These blogs will differ significantly from previous ones in that they will focus much more on history, aviation, and other topics that fascinate me without being so narrowly focused on the writing process.  Perhaps I assumed, wrongly, that most visitors to the site would consider themselves writers primarily, instead of readers just looking for an interesting topic.   Not that I would totally cut out writing about technique and writing advice, rather it would not make up the preponderance of the blogs.

I have many projects that I am concurrently working on, all but one take place in time periods other than our own.   It is keeping me really busy and my main focus right now is:

Under the Red, White, and Blue—is the story of two Latter Day Saint brothers who leave Utah to enlist in the Army during WW I.   One fights in the trenches as an enlisted man, one is an aviator who is related to Brigham Fratelli from IN LOVE AND WAR.  Hyrum, the enlisted man, is wounded in a trench attack and befriends a war widow while recuperating in London.  It still has a ways to go.

Part of my research for Under the Red…  includes studying a book called WHISPERS IN THE WIND, a compilation of journal entries from a US Army sergeant mixed with bits of a memoir by a former captain in the same regiment.   There is an immediacy in this source material that makes for great reading.   I think you can still find it on Amazon, under the name of the editor Douglas R. Eisenstein.

In addition to the above-mentioned projects that are the book-length ones and are in various stages of development, I still have a number of short stories out to magazines and have lately been composing hymn lyrics intended for consideration by the LDS (Mormon) Church.   I’ve also been working on essays where the main focus is on thoughts of spirituality and my conversion to the LDS faith.

I am really excited to be reaching out again to my readers, the number of which continues to grow.   As you will see in this updated website, since last year the Amazon reviews now number five, all excellent except for one very good.   And you will find the very positive Kirkus Reviews book review of IN LOVE AND WAR.   I hope everyone enjoys the cooler weather, and is looking forward to Thanksgiving with family and friends.   We in my family have much to be grateful for.   Have a Happy Thanksgiving and be sure to comment on this blog if you like.