To write a best seller is every writer's dream. During my teen years, I remember hearing the tic-tack-tic of the old Remington typewriter keys from my dad's study. Pecking vigorously with two finge...view moreTo write a best seller is every writer's dream. During my teen years, I remember hearing the tic-tack-tic of the old Remington typewriter keys from my dad's study. Pecking vigorously with two fingers, my dad wrote 25 adult novels with back stabbing protagonists and bedroom passion. My dad died before completing a Civil War novel - Rampant River.
I teach American Literature at Bell High School in Southern California. During summer breaks, I spent time revising my dad's western. I carefully researched the time-line (1857-1869) and added historical detail. I matched words with my dad, intensifying the reality of scenes and dialogue.
Vacationing with my wife, we visited Lawrence, Kansas, where troops lead by Captain William C. Quantrill murdered 140 non-combatants on August 21, 1863. We crossed the vast prairie and explored western ghost towns. In my imagination I rode the trail with the main character in Rampant River, the tough rancher, Sam Morgan.
600,000 American soldiers perished in the Civil War. Rampant River is about the American spirit - honor and courage. God Bless America.view less