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Writing the Billy Boyle World War II mystery series
has brought me an immense amount of joy. I've gotten to meet
people in person and online from all over the country (and the rest
of the world) and hear their reactions, feedback, and most
importantly, their own stories.
My idea for a historical mystery series set within
the Allied High Command during the Second World War began with
the first title, "Billy Boyle", which takes place in England and Norway in 1942.
The second, "The First Wave", carries on a few months
later during the Allied invasion of French Northwest Africa.
The third, "Blood Alone" continues the story through the Allied
invasion of Sicily. Soho Press has released the fourth
installment, "Evil For Evil" (September 2009) in which
Billy Boyle voyages to Ireland.
I am working on the fifth book in the series, which
will deal with the infamous Katyn Massacre of Polish Officers by the
Soviets, and how the uncovering of that crime affected the war,
especially Polish-Americans and the Poles in exile in England.
This work is tentatively titled "Rag and Bone" (from the Keats
poem).
One recently completed work is "Souvenir", an exploration of the
effects of World War II combat on one man during three stages of his
life. This is not a mystery, and is available for any
interested publishers to read! I live in
Hadlyme, Connecticut, with my wife Deborah Mandel, a
psychotherapist who offers many insights into the motivations
of my characters, a good critical read, and much else. Our dog
Ranger lives with us. We have two sons, Jeff and Ben, and seven grandchildren
(Camille, Claudia, Emma, Luke, Nathaniel, Noah, Oliver). I'm a graduate of the University of Connecticut and received
my MLS degree from Southern Connecticut State University. I am
a member of the Mystery Writers
of America, and the Author's Guild. I've worked in the library
field for over twenty-five years and currently work in educational
technology to earn a living so that I can write. Would that it
could be otherwise. I've learned two valuable lessons since I started writing which
have helped me greatly. The first is a quote from Oscar Wilde,
who said "The art of writing is the art of applying the
seat of one's pants to a chair." The second is from novelist
Rachel Basch, who told me "the story has to move down, as well
as forward." Both sound simple. Neither is.
For those interested in learning more about writing,
I suggest starting with this list of books about reading and
writing. The first three are accessible for anyone who wants
to read and understand more deeply, as well as learning writing
skills. The fourth is for serious students of writing only: Books On Writing |