historical novel

Tuesday August 3rd 1999

Today is the day I have been waiting for since we arrived—we will be going to Vanse to see all the places my father talked about from his childhood. During the drive my father kept saying, “You know, I am sure things have changed a lot since 1945.” As we entered the town he had a wrinkled brow as he kept looking out the window. “So much has changed,” he said discouraged, shaking his head. “I think we need to take a right here and then a left.” We followed his directions and his eyes opened wide. “There it is! Now I know where we are. This is the church where Bestefar and Bestemor are buried. Pull over and park.” We followed my dad as he walked through the graveyard to the…

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Sunday August 1st 1999

Happy 70th Birthday, Dad! After another great breakfast at the hotel we were off to visit Torstein, one of my dad’s cousins. He lives in the town of Drangedal which is located about 120 kilometers southwest of Oslo. As you can imagine, all of the drives in Norway are scenic. We stopped at so many places along the way that what should have been a two-hour drive ended up being a ten-hour one, two of which were spent at a beautiful water-side lunch stop. When we drove up to Torstein’s house we found him outside doing some gardening. After many hellos, he took us around his house and showed us his landscaping. During that portion of the tour, my sister decided the lawn looked just too comfortable and that it was time…

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Saturday July 31st 1999

Today after breakfast there was a lot on our list of things to see and do. Here are a few of my favorites from Carol’s scrapbook: While we were in the stave church, my father could not resist preaching to us a little. This, of course, made me think of Adam and Eve, which then made me think of apples. We managed to find a very fancy McDonald’s to eat lunch at and of course I had an apple pie for dessert. I always like when things come full circle. After lunch we spent the rest of the day visiting Vigeland Park. The setting of the park was perfect for an art collection and the placement of each piece was well-thought-out, adding to the experience.

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Good things take time.

Patience is a virtue.I was told this as a young man, but have learned that patience is a necessity when producing a quality product. My second book, Occupied, is testing my patience and my lack of understanding about how things work in the publishing world has often felt like an anchor slowing things down.Fortunately I was given good advice and hired the right people who now make up Team Occupied. All of them have been very patient with me and have taken the time to explain why their step is important to the process and how what they do is intertwined with the work of others. Armed with this information I now realize that there is not an anchor slowing me down—I was just tired of rowing. With Team Occupied’s help, I am re-energized…

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My first blog!

Welcome to my blog. This first post will be an introduction to me and an overview of my plans for future entries so you have an idea of where I am heading. If I get off track, as one of my loyal followers, please nudge me and say, "Hey, what’s up with your blog?"I am married and have two wonderful daughters who, since moving out, have been more wonderful than ever before. I do miss them, but get to see them every week along with my grandson. I actually believe they enjoyed moving out more than I did and perhaps they will leave a comment on this post to confirm. My wife, Carol, puts up with a lot, mostly me of course, but if she is as happy as I am after 32…

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