Dateline: March 31, 2021

You’re in the right place

for a mix of stories you just won’t find anywhere else…

“Here’s to the allure of the obscure!”

My friends, it has been a roller coaster ride for all of us. Hang in there. We can now see more ups than downs, and that’s good. There is much to celebrate beyond the madness. Be of great cheer, compadres. We’ll see this through together as long as we remain vigilant.

In this issue:

1. Vietnam War Veteran’s Day (Wall of Faces)
2. Road Prep (Move to 2022)
3. Why THIS Book? (Continued)
4. Did You Know? (A New Regular Feature)
5. Writer’s Side (A New Feature for Aspiring Authors)
6. Featured Guest (New York Times Bestselling Author)

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1. Vietnam War Veteran’s Day

Although I am a disabled Vietnam-era veteran. I did not go to Vietnam, but I served for six years during that time in the US Coast Guard search and rescue teams (4 years active, 2 in the reserves). If you are my age, you also likely know someone who went in-country but did not return.

This last Monday, March 29th, commemorated the war’s 50th anniversary. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Virtual Wall of Faces is nearly complete but needs help from the public to track down the last few dozen photos of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Of the 58,279 names inscribed on The Wall in Washington, D.C., there are less than 80 photos needed to complete the Wall of Faces. Click here to see if you help provide photos for any of the names whose faces are still missing.

And thanks to all of you who have served or are serving our great nation!

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2. Road Prep

Due to the pandemic and having heeded the advice of public health experts, we did not travel much this past year. We feel more confident with our “shields up” now that we are fully vaccinated; however, since we fall into a high risk group, we’ll obviously remain vigilant.

But here’s our bonus round! By staying put in the condo for the last year, in lieu of buying fuel for the monster and paying for RV sites to park our bus (some as expensive as a hotel room), we could afford to favor our bus with a big ole slurp from the fountain of youth. Now she’s had her fill, and she was mighty thirsty.

In a couple of weeks we’re off to pick up our baby, our sweet-sixteen-year-old motorhome, and then it’s off to Minnesota to visit family, friends, and to help celebrate our middle grandson’s graduation from high school before we start an extended tour of America’s southeast coast (next year, we head west again). But “Ma” (our Newmar Mountain Aire) will look younger and prettier from now on, both outside and inside, quite different from last December when we dropped her off at the factory in Indiana.

So we’re still in Florida, and the bus is still at the factory, but we’re going to join her mid-April.

Old busted (well, old-looking anyway):

New hotness (ain’t she grand?):

If she looks as good up close and in person, we’ll by flyin’ high!

We’re damn proud of—and grateful for—our old bus. Sorry, we just had to share this good news story with y’all. We’re anxiously staging (stacking) by the condo’s front door all the stuff we’ll need to take with us (stashed in a U-Haul trailer we’ll tow to Indiana behind the Jeep). We’ll load up the bus for a seven-month adventure. Our wanderlust is every bit as addictive as our love for each other (aw, a tender moment)! But our gratitude for such adventures together is like swimming in waves of sweet gravy at the beach, although not an apt simile for a couple of aging weight-conscious vegans! You get the idea, though, don’t you?

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3. Why Write THIS Book?

Say what? What book?

Last month I teased you with a preview of my new project, a novel that should be available later this year (I don’t write and publish all that fast). You may recall it will be a “1930s-era story of love, survival and intrigue transformed into a rural rock-the-house crime drama.”

So why this project, and why now? Some of you have asked how authors come up with ideas for books. Lots of answers to these questions, but indulge me as I share my personal motivation for this project with you.

I grew up in America as part of what many considered (including me) an entitled generation in a wealthy nation, yet righteously indignant while living in relative privilege, even though my parents’ subsistence level constantly flirted with poverty. They just worked that hard. I’m feeling that more than ever as I plod through the initial research for “Jake’s Flame” (working title only at this point). Dare I say my generation had it relatively easy growing up from the fifties to today compared to my parents’ generation. And yes, that’s my humble and perhaps myopic opinion.  

Worse, we can’t really appreciate what their generation endured. They just sucked it up and we thrived, at least emotionally, if not financially. I’m just now beginning to fully appreciate that. My parents were special people.

As a young adult, unlike my parents, I suffered through no Great Depression, no World Wars, no dust bowl, no days or weeks (or more) of gut-cramping hunger (at least in my circles), no massive social reformation (like FDR’s New Deal) or major pandemics. My mom was crippled for life by Polio as a child and lost scores of family & friends to the Spanish Flu. These were the pandemics of their day. Most recently, however, we’re witnessing a few similar tribulations. The story I now feel compelled to write and publish seems timely. All the craziness we’re going through right now? We’ve been here before, and we’re going to be okay. It seems we are poised to witness sweeping change. I’m confident we’ll see it through.

As I research the late 1920s and early 1930s life in America for this book, learning of that pivotal period shook loose a passion in me I was not expecting. This book will be a meat and potatoes romantic crime drama that I believe my generation of “boomers” can sink their teeth into. And if I’m lucky, this story will also resonate with others the ages of our children and grandchildren. Yup, I’m a dreamer, like my conflicted father.

My dad died of a heart condition, some say of a broken heart from unrealized dreams. Soon thereafter, my mom died of complications from her childhood disease and hard, hard living. She had willingly abandoned a life of privilege as a young woman simply for the unadulterated love of a guy who had little more to offer her than his love, his humor and a pioneer spirit that consumed them both. I regretted waiting until my mother was literally on her death bed to ask all the poignant questions I am now asking of others who remember while there is still time.  This will be their story based on their young adult lives, an epic of conflicted devotion to family, to friends, to lovers, as well as to off-and-on law and order.

I wish readers to truly appreciate how my parents’ generation struggled to make the lives of their family and their small but cherished community easier, more fulfilling, and to weave the tale of what they sacrificed at a time when it would have been so easy just to give up. My parents and their parents left us an untold legacy. I need to tell you this story based on their lives.

Full disclosure: this is a novel, not a biography, because that’s what I am compelled to write. I am constitutionally incapable of telling the whole truth in any event, and that’s okay. That’s what novelists do.

I write this story as I now approach the age at which my sainted parents shed their own mortal coils. I need to share the story based on their young adulthood from within the genres of crime and drama, and yes, some romance. Before it is too late.

That’s why this book. And why now. 

Oh, after a year in the bunker and with our COVID vaccinations now behind us, I finally feel more confident than I have in a while to get out and sell a few of my other books face-to-face (behind a mask, of course)… Old school is fun!

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4. Did You Know?

While researching Jake’s Flame I came across an obscure but pivotal moment in our nation’s history that has largely settled into the dust of our great nation’s history.

Did you know that if one leg of a wooden chair hadn’t been slightly shorter than the other three in 1933, our country would likely have a very different face today?

At just 5’1″ Giuseppe “Joe” Zangara couldn’t see much as he stood in a crowd of taller folks on the evening of February 15, 1933.

The crowd had gathered on this balmy Miami evening in Bayfront Park near Little Havana to hear and see the soon-to-be-inaugurated U.S. president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The president-elect concluded his speech at 9:35PM from the back seat of his light-blue Buick convertible. Joe Zangara was determined to empty his .32 caliber pistol into FDR. But because of his diminutive stature, he resorted to perching on a wobbly chair to line up his shots.

The would-be assassin fired five rounds but missed the president-elect arguably because that chair upon which he stood had one leg a fraction of an inch shorter than the others.

The thirty-second president-elect was not injured, but several others were, including Chicago’s mayor who would later succumb to his wounds. FDR stayed on the scene to comfort the victims despite the vociferous objections of his Secret Service detail.

This act of calm heroism was not missed by the press. FDR gained the confidence and trust of the American people even before being sworn in to the highest office of the land.

Had Joe Zangara, an unemployed blue-collar bricklayer, succeeded in assassinating FDR, our nation might look very different today, but FDR’s reaction to the attempt on his life cemented the people’s confidence in this new president even before he was inaugurated. Much later, journalist Florence King wrote an article in 1999 entitled, “A Date Which Should Live in Irony.”

The early 1930s saw our nation knocked flat on its laurels by the Great Depression. The country was in serious trouble. Between 1933 and 1939, FDR took action to bring about economic relief as well as reforms in industry, agriculture, finance, waterpower, labor and housing. He vastly increased the scope of the federal government’s activities at a time when the nation desperately needed strong leadership to mitigate the risk of another devastating blow to the global economy (he created the Securities Exchange Commission). He bolstered confidence in a failed banking system (by establishing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).

Despite scathing criticism, many lauded FDR’s actions to create countless jobs for the “forgotten man” (with the Civilian Conservation Corps). He enhanced and modernized the deteriorated power grid across seven states with modern hydroelectric power generation (Tennessee Valley Authority), and strengthened unions to combat a spreading sweat shop mentality (with a new National Labor Relations Board which established maximum working hours and a minimum wage). He created Social Security (for widows’ and retirees’ well-being).

Despite criticism of his “socialistic tendencies” at the time, much of FDR’s “New Deal” achieved nationwide acceptance. Some even suggested later that FDR saved capitalism.

Roosevelt’s domestic programs were largely followed in the “Fair Deal” of President Harry S. Truman (1945–53), and both major U.S. parties came to accept most New Deal reforms as a permanent part of the national life.

Whatever your political leanings, I think you’d agree FDR did indeed change the face of our nation during his tenure from 1933 until his death in 1945.

If that chair in Miami hadn’t wobbled…

Did you know? If not, now you do.

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5. Writer’s Side

By request, this column will now be a regular feature in this newsletter for those of you who aspire to becoming an author, or for those of you who write and are drawn to what other writers practice in their own advancement of the craft. Check it out.

Stephen King famously said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or tools) to write.” Even if you don’t care for his style or genre, the man understands the craft of writing and has made a ton of money practicing it.

Do you want to write? Your most valuable tools come from reading… a lot. But here’s the thing. You need to read like a writer, not just for the hell of it (well, that too). Pay attention. Take notes. I keep a virtual notebook for just such a purpose. Whether I’m reading a paperback or an ebook (on my computer, phone or tablet), I take notes. I highlight that which speaks to me. My paperbacks are chuck full of highlights, margin notes and dog-eared pages.

When I finish reading a book, my notes get transcribed into my Idea Factory, a concept created by well-known author, James Scott Bell. This practice doesn’t take a lot of time. This is a computer file (backed up to ‘the cloud’ for safekeeping). In that file, I maintain categories to which I add every time I complete another book, the kind of book I wish to write, by authors I want to emulate.

These categories include ideas for fabulous first lines, wondrous words, fascinating phrases, compelling characters, sensational settings, odd occupations, tempting tropes (themes), inspired plot ideas, borrowed old plots, and so on. I also scan the media for ideas within and across these categories. I may then adopt a few of these—with my own unique twists—for my own book ideas and promote them to my back burner category. Over time, a few of these will move to my front burner category with some further development (detail). And a few of those will inevitably get promoted to my white hots category. From there, one or two will move to my serious book ideas category. By regularly practicing this methodology, I always have developed ideas marinating. Writer’s block? Not this geriatric kid.

To read more about this methodology, see Writing Your Novel From the Middle by James Scott Bell.

But none of this idea incubation happens without first reading both fiction (my favorite genres) or non-fiction (my favorites are books on the craft of writing). Further, without reading like a writer and adding regularly to my idea factory, I’m not improving as a writer.

So then what? I’ve been reading, taking notes and collecting ideas. Yup. I still gotta write, and like any artistic endeavor, practice makes perfect.

The good news? This is easy. I just write. Anything. A little every day. Editing comes later. If I’m reading and studying the craft of writing (by reading books and articles on all aspects of writing), even a little every day, writing a little every day will make me a better writer.

If you do this, year from now, you will amaze yourself, even if you’re just writing for your own enjoyment, filling journal after journal… there’s gold in them thar journals. OR you’ll be publishing your work in blog posts, articles, or even a novel.

The process IS the journey!

So get ‘er done… or not. But know this. YOU are the captain of your ship: sink, swim, sail, or get stuck in the Suez Canal, skipper! Have fun!

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6. My Featured Guest Author

A few years ago, I met Nick Russell in a small online hangout for authors who live, travel and write on the road. I’ve been a fan since. If you’re an avid RV enthusiast, it’s likely you’ve read or heard of Nick’s Gypsy Journal newspaper. Besides his acclaim as a prolific and successful author, I just enjoy the hell out of Nick’s unusual sense of take-no-prisoners humor, especially in his online persona and in his monthly newsletters.

Nick, be a pal. Give us the scoop…

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Sure. To date, I’ve authored forty-five books, including my Big Lake mystery series, the John Lee Quarrels series, the two-book Dog’s Run series, and the Tinder Street family saga. I was very fortunate that my first novel, Big Lake, made the New York Times bestseller list.

I come from a cop family. My dad was a deputy sheriff who later became a Border Patrolman. When he retired, he became a city cop in Ohio. I also had two uncles and an older brother who were law enforcement officers.

I joined the Army right after high school and served in Vietnam with the First Cavalry Division, getting myself banged up a couple of times. When I returned stateside and was once again fit for duty, I was a firearms instructor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. It was the best job I ever had. I got paid to play with guns all day long. I went to a lot of Army schools and audited classes at West Point. By the time I left the Army I had almost enough credits for a bachelor’s degree.

I was a reserve cop in Ohio until my dad talked me out of law enforcement as a career. He convinced me to pursue my dream of being a writer. I did, but first I spent six years as a criminal investigator with the Arizona Attorney General’s office.

I’m a lifelong lover of books and writing. For most of my working life I ran small-town newspapers on the Pacific Northwest coast and in Arizona. In 1999, my wife Terry and I became full-time RVers, spending the next 18+ years wandering around the country in a motorhome publishing the Gypsy Journal RV travel newspaper.

In October of 2016, we bought a house in central Florida’s east coast, midway between Daytona Beach and Cape Canaveral. We love it and can watch rocket launches from our yard.

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Thanks, Nick, for your books, for your wit, for your service in Vietnam and here at home.

Check out his latest book, Fresh Out of Mojo.

Write on, brother!

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With pen in hand,

Gene