Being a writer is who I am.
It started with curlicued scribbles across pages of a small, lined notebook…
There were years of learning to read; learning—and understanding—the architecture of the English; learning and fine-tuning the craft of writing in my own way, in my own voice.
There was a career as a freelancer writing everything from speeches and scripts to ad copy.
There were books to edit on assignment.
There was The Battalion Artist to write for a beloved friend.
There has been non-stop reading
And now finally….
THE BOOK I’VE BEEN WRITING ALL MY LIFE
Lighter Than Air
My uncle, Joe Flynn, was a great storyteller, and he had many stories to tell. His life spanned nearly the entire 20th century. After Joe died, I realized that I was the keeper of these stories, that each was a chapter, and that once I had written them all down, I would be the author of an entertaining, thought-provoking, and frequently funny book.
Joe’s stories are laced with humor and human interest. He told tales of drunken sailors on tropical islands, a “small” explosion on a pier in New York, a rendezvous at “Black Watch Bridge” a boy who died, and a brother who didn’t, bookies, bootleggers, and a dog who followed the mailman on his route and returned home via trolley all by himself and wagging his tail.