Because the word “retired” sounds like I bought a new set of
Goodyears for the car I’d rather say I worked for the Flint Public Library for
32 years before exiting public service and turned to writing books instead of
selecting, collecting and preserving them for the public good. I also spent 20
years as a freelance book reviewer for the Flint Journal.
In college I took a required course on Michigan history in
which the grade was determined in large part by the amount of self-directed supplemental reading on Michigan history students waded through. After reading about King
Strang, the Pontiac War, and the early exploration of the Great Lakes I simply
fell in love with Michigan’s unique and fascinating history. My love and
appreciation for the state began as a kid with my first trip to the U.P. It only
deepened as the years passed and I, my wife, and kids camped from Copper Harbor to
Monroe and a few magic days on Isle Royale. In the 1950s I was even a witness to
Michigan history in the making. It was while crossing the Straits of Mackinac in
a ferry and seeing the pillars of Big Mac rising out of the water.
I was naturally drawn to writing about our state and over
the years I have written more than a half dozen books, both travel and history,
on Michigan and the Great Lakes. One book was self-published, and the others
were produced by small independent publishers. As a writer I became very aware
of the difficulty of self-published and small press authors have in getting any
publicity for their books and reaching readers, librarians, and independent
bookstores. This became even more difficult when newspapers lost advertising
revenue to the internet and dropped book reviews among many other cutbacks.
The creation of Michigan in Books was in part the idea of
creating a venue for authors and publishers to publicize their books and reach
out to librarians and readers. Admittedly, the major reason continued to be my fascination
with Michigan and a desire to see, read, and review what is written about our
state. Or, I’m just a librarian who doesn’t want to retire and loves
recommending books to readers.
My writing career has spanned more than 30 years and I have
three books currently in print. They are:
In the Grip of the Whirlwind: The Armistice Day Storm of
1940
Stick ‘em Up: Michigan Bank Robberies of the 1920s &
1930s
Michigan State and National Parks: A Complete Guide
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