Books, Writing, History, and Me
In “Books, Writing, History, and Me” I share my thoughts on travel, cooking, van-life, books, the process of writing, the experiences of an indie-publisher, WWII, the Holocaust, and anything else I feel might be of interest to readers of my books. Please send me comments and let me know what you like and what you want to know more about. Everything in this blog reflects my personal ideas and feelings–a memoir of sorts, it is my perspective and any errors or omissions are mine.
Book Release in the Time of Covid
The summer of 2020 will stand out in history as the summer of Covid-19 – a time to avoid crowds at the beach and the amusement park, a summer when airports are more dangerous than sky-diving, and days of longing to gather with friends and family. The summer solstice has come and gone. But for…
A Book Cover for Wherever the Road Leads
Efforts to design the perfect book cover for Wherever the Road Leads have been grueling. So many decisions! So many great ideas! Thank you to my wonderful team of advisors. Recently, I posted blogs about selecting the photos and the pen and ink illustrations for my memoir. The process of choosing from an existing group…
Paris Memoirs of Art and Love
Art and Paris memories flow from A Paris Year, by Janice MacLeod. I found this book just as the Covid-19 pandemic nudged into our consciousness. Days later, I regretfully cancelled a planned “April in Paris/Tulip season in the Netherlands” trip. Instead of walking the streets of Paris myself, I read Janice’s book, a delightful guide…
Illustrations for a Travel Memoir, Wherever the Road Leads.
Wherever the Road Leads has always been planned as an illustrated memoir. After all, with a subtitle that starts “An Artist’s Memoir . . .,” readers will expect to see artwork. Luckily, I didn’t have 1000 drawings to choose from like I did with the photos. However, because of page consideration (Print on Demand…
Photos for a Travel Memoir
Selecting the illustrations for Wherever the Road Leads has sent me down memory lane yet again. I plan for the book to have three kinds of illustrations: • Photos taken by Tom of our travels • Pen-and-ink drawings I did along the way • Route maps with small sketches to show where we went
Travel as Education (after the Pandemic)
For those of us with travel in our DNA, this is a difficult time. We are stranded in our homes with no place to go. Besides this, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many parents have unexpectedly found themselves home alone educating their children. As they struggle with this difficult role, many parents can’t wait for…
Comfort Food for Shelter in Place Days
The simple cooking style I practiced of necessity in my van-life days translates well to the shelter in place weeks we are experiencing now. One of my favorite comfort food ingredients, white sauce, is finding its way back into my repertoire. If you are older (say in your 70s like myself), mid-twentieth century comfort food…
Nomadland, A Book about Van-life Today
Over the last months, while I was researching travel memoirs, I came across Nomandland, by Jessica Bruder. Not a memoir, still this triumph of personal journalism hit a cord with me because it reveals van-life as it is today. I am aware of the trend of adventurous youth to spend some years living in a…
Mexican Fried Rice, Van-life Cooking at a Time of Uncertainty
Last night for supper I prepared a rice dish that was inspired by both Chinese Fried Rice and the delicious Persian dish, Baghali Polo. Creating new dishes has always been relaxing and fun for me and, during these days of enforced “sheltering in place,” I’ve set myself the goal of making the best use of…