Alto Vista Chapel, Aruba

The Alto Vista Chapel in Aruba overlooks the Caribbean Sea on the east side of the island. This quaint place of worship is unique on the island. There are many larger churches scattered about, but this one stands off by itself. Here’s a short video to give you and idea of the place.

Still an active place of worship, the Alto Vista Chapel also hosts weddings and other religious ceremonies. It is a stop on many of the regular island tours as well as a popular destination for people to come and pay their respects. It had been a location in my novel, An Island Away, but was cut from the final draft. I’m working to include it in the sequel, Under A Blue Flag, but we’ll see.

Bon dia from Aruba!

Published in: on November 12, 2008 at 11:17 am  Leave a Comment  
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Charlie’s Bar Interior

Regular readers of this blog know that Charlie’s Bar is an Aruban institution of sorts. The place is absolutely packed with left behind items. It’s difficult to describe so here is some video footage.

Charlie was a good friend and may he rest in peace. I made him a character in An Island Away because he embodied the spirit and sensibility of San Nicolaas, which is a town like none other. See you around there someday.

Published in: on November 8, 2008 at 10:19 am  Comments (1)  
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Books Arrive

As the photo below shows, three pallets of my novel, An Island Away, just arrived here in Aruba. This was a welcome sight as many stores have run low or sold out completely. More are on the way, too, because I’ll be hosting several events this month as well as in December.

port_booksFor more information about An Island Away or to read excerpts, go to my website through the link here at my blog.

Thanks and happy reading!

Published in: on November 6, 2008 at 4:03 pm  Leave a Comment  
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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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