Big Iron

Here is a photo taken at the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad yard. It’s of a massive steam engine that is undergoing a complete rebuild.

I wrote a short story called, Big Iron Holiday. In it, two friends (Ellsworth Botcher and Ned Fry) reunite after the end of the First World War. One is a railroad superintendent, the other is a pilot. I intend to use this short story as the basis for a novel titled simply Big Iron. The novel will follow these two characters and their lives as the United States evolves through the boomtimes of the 1920’s, the Great Depression, and the lead-up to D-Day. There will be some other characters, too, ranging from Hollywood stars to the men who kept the railroads running through all types of conditions.

As readers of this blog know, I like long books. Big Iron will be a long book. It is my hope that it will run more than 750 pages. Good characters, like the ones I have in mind, should easily be able to carry it that far.

What’s your favorite long book?

Published in: on October 31, 2008 at 12:25 am  Leave a Comment  
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Writer Music

As stated in earlier posts, I enjoy writing in public spaces. I also do a bit of writing in a home office. The right music helps make the words flow and lately I’ve been listening to Alicia de Larrocha. Her recordings of the Mozart Piano Sonatas are nothing short of incredible. In the first place she plays them in what I would call a “clean” style, sticking to the score dynamics as penned by the composer. In other words, she doesn’t overdo it. Her phrasing is as crisp as good dialog and the subtleties of each piece are pleasantly accented without being intrusive.

If you like Mozart’s piano works, I highly recommend the RCA “Complete Collections” set by Señora de Larrocha. I found this on iTunes.

Finally, whatever piano she played to record this album should be in the world hall of fame for legendary instruments, or perhaps the Smithsonian.

Published in: on October 24, 2008 at 3:24 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Privateer Lynx

I was doing more research for my novel, MacMillan Judge, Privateer, when I came across a boat very similar to Judge’s Fletcher. The name of this vessel is the Lynx, and it is modeled after a privateer from the War of 1812. It was built in 2001. Here is the link to their website: PrivateerLynx.com. It is definitely worth a visit to see this amazing piece of American History in action. My hat is off to the people who make such things possible.

Enjoy and look for this novel in a couple of years.

Published in: on October 19, 2008 at 1:45 am  Leave a Comment  
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A Quote For The Times

“The control of the production of wealth is the control of human life itself.” – Hilaire Belloc

Think about the above quote in the context of the government and those wanting to hold office. The talk of controlling the markets, of intervening, of bailouts and rescues obfuscates the reality that once these measures are in place, the government will control the lives of its citizens.

Enough said. For today.

Published in: on October 14, 2008 at 6:30 pm  Leave a Comment  
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