About
To quote the late Jerry Garcia,“what a long, strange trip it’s been”. In my sixty-one years, I've worked on a missile launch crew, in the engine room of aMississippi riverboat and as the operator of a chemical plant. I've soldinsurance, advertising and other stuff, worked in numerous factories and as acounselor in a group home for troubled teens. There were the ten years as the webmaster/English editorfor a large Buddhist temple in southernCalifornia. Then there was the time spent in the Philippines as a Christianmissionary. All together, it makes for an interesting, if confusing, resume, aswell as a unique and eclectic writer’s perspective.
Now living in Calaveras County, California, I'm trying to decide if I'm retired, a writer or merely unemployed.
Description
<p><span style="color:rgb(15,17,17);font-family:'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">What happens when a king loses his prowess? The day Henry IV could finally declare he had vanquished his enemies, he threw it all away with an infamous deed. No English king had executed an archbishop before. And divine judgment was quick to follow. Many thought he was struck with leprosy—God's greatest punishment for sinners. From that point on, Henry's health was cursed and he fought doggedly on as his body continued to betray him—reducing this once great warrior to an invalid. Fortunately for England, his heir was ready and eager to take over. But Henry wasn't willing to relinquish what he had worked so hard to preserve. No one was going to take away his royal prerogative—not even Prince Hal. But Henry didn't count on Hal's dauntless nature, which threatened to tear the royal family apart.</span></p>
Story Behind The Book
A Wall of Eden began as a writing project. The challenge: Take an existing plot with which everyone is familiar. Without changing the story or its outcome, make it fresh and new. The story of the Garden of Eden was chosen because, in addition to being a familiar story, it is one which allows no references to the past. It also precludes the use of modern axioms and idioms. For example, neither Adam nor Eve could have been depicted as 'being so happy that they did cartwheels'. No cart, no wheels.
As the writing of the story progressed, another challenge presented itself. Portray the characters (Adam, Eve, the Serpent, the Lord) in such a way that the reader can start to see himself in the story. The story of Adam and Eve, like the rest of the Bible, has to be seen as each of our stories, else it is nothing but history at best, or even irrelevant myth or fable at worst.
I once saw, in a college curriculum, a course called The Bible As Literature. I never did sign up for the course, but the name stuck in mind over the years. A Wall in Eden is 'the Bible as literature', or at least an entertaining, made-up story with familiar characters and themes.
