Watch Book Trailer For My Upcoming Novel “Last of the Seals”

The year is 1957 in San Francisco. Sam Slater is a lifetime minor league baseball player for the San Francisco Seals. The Seals have just one more season left as San Francisco is about to become a major league city. The Giants are coming to town in 1958 and the Seals will be displaced. Sam has come to the end of his baseball career and is going to join the private detective agency of his best friend. When his friend is brutally murdered, Sam must go it alone and try to find out why. Along the way he is swept off of his feet by a beautiful Elvis-obsessed TWA stewardess named Amelia Ryan. Sam and Amelia try to unravel the mystery together. Sam’s best friend, Jimmy inadvertently saw something he shouldn’t have. Sam and Amelia have pictures in their possession that have crime families in San Francisco and Chicago very worried. Then a young woman Sam has been searching for is found dead on the beach. Suddenly, Sam and Amelia find themselves in danger. On dark and foggy San Francisco nights, trouble is lurking just around the next corner. Coming this April!

The Last Of The Seals — My New Novel Coming Soon

I have just completed my fourth novel “The Last of the Seals” which is in pre-production. I’m very excited to begin offering sneak previews of my new novel. “The Last of the Seals” will be the first of a trilogy of mysteries.  Sam Slater and Amelia Ryan are a pair of novice private investigators who quickly get in over their head in 1957 San Francisco.

Here is a synopsis of my new novel:

The year is 1957 in San Francisco. Sam Slater is a lifetime minor league baseball player for the San Francisco Seals. The Seals have just one more season left as San Francisco is about to become a major league city. The Giants are coming to town in 1958 and the Seals will be displaced. Sam has come to the end of his career and is going to join the private detective agency of his best friend. When his friend is brutally murdered, Sam must go it alone and try to find out why. Along the way he is swept off of his feet by a beautiful Elvis-obsessed TWA stewardess named Amelia Ryan. Sam and Amelia try to unravel the mystery together.  Jimmy inadvertently saw something he shouldn’t have. Sam and Amelia have pictures in their possession that have crime families in San Francisco and Chicago very worried.  Suddenly, Sam and Amelia find themselves in danger. On dark and foggy San Francisco nights, trouble is lurking just around the next corner.

Follow the colorful history of the San Francisco Seals in 1957 San Francisco. Watch this video of the experience of attending a baseball game at Seals Stadium.

My Favorite Movies of 2011

Amid the rubble at the local multiplex were some real gems among the movies of 2011.

Here are my favorites.

1. THE ARTIST — A magical movie of pure joy. A visual feast of a bygone era. Don’t miss this one.
2. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS — Combines some of my favorite things–Woody Allen, Paris and the romance of writing. I’m a huge Woody fan and this is one of his best in years. It’s a great companion to the book “The Paris Wife” which was one of my favorite books of 2011.
3. THE DESCENDANTS — Great performance by George Clooney has a man discovering secrets about his comatose wife and his children. It’s a perfectly executed movie by the great filmmaker Alexander Payne.
4. MY WEEK WITH MARILYN — A beautiful little movie with an astounding performance one of the best actresses on the planet–Michelle Williams. It makes you realize that it wasn’t easy to be Marilyn Monroe.
5. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY — This Cold War spy drama is a gem of a bygone era. Gary Oldham is fabulous. I had to see it twice to try to figure out all of the nuances. It was worth the effort.
6. YOUNG ADULT. — A woman who is having trouble moving past the fantasy of  a high school love revisits her hometown.  Charlize Theron carries the movie on her lovely back. A great study in how we comes to terms with the life we have and that “going home” is not always the answer.
7. MONEYBALL — Another great Brad Pitt movie of 2011. I grew up watching the Oakland A’s and love baseball movies. This is a great baseball movie but much, much more.
8. DRIVE — I’ve always had a soft spot for Albert Brooks but I never imagined that he could really frighten me. He can. Another great performance by Ryan Gosling. It’s violent and makes you cringe at times but you can’t stop watching.
9. THE HELP — Great book becomes a great movie. Wonderful performances by the ensemble cast of women who remind us that despite our problems, we’ve come a long way. It’s a story that everyone under 50 needs to see to know what the world used to be like.
10. MARGIN CALL — The best movie among several about the economic meltdown. It makes the complex financial maneuverings understandable and moving. You can’t lose when you have Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Simon Baker and Stanley Tucci

New Year’s Eve 1999 in “Expiation”

The turn of the century was a fascinating worldwide event. There was great fear throughout the world. Everyone was frightened about the effects of Y2K. Some stockpiled food, portable generators and even ammunition.
Seattle had an especially bumpy ride into the 21st Century. In mid-December downtown Seattle became a war zone thanks to the WTO riots. The World Trade Organization met in Seattle and the violent protests became known as “The Battle of Seattle.”
It got worse. A group of terrorists with a car full of explosives were detected coming over the Canadian border. It was feared that they might attempt a terrorist attack on the iconic Space Needle. Seattle cancelled it’s New Year’s Eve party at the base of the Space Needle.
The Space Needle is the site of an incredible fireworks show each New Year’s Eve. (Watch it in the attached video file)
I thought this was the perfect backdrop for my main characters Dan and Katie in my novel “Expiation.” Dan and Katie were trying to deal with personal uncertainty against the backdrop of the plunge into the 21st. Century.
Here is a free excerpt from “Expiation” in a scene taking place at midnight 1999.
Midnight came. We toasted the birth of the new century, and watched the televised fireworks at the Space Needle. Katie and I kissed passionately. Volumes of unsaid feelings–feelings almost beyond our ability to express them–were being conveyed between us as we stared deeply into one another’s eyes.
I felt my expression was inadequate but heart-felt, “I love you so, Katie, and I’ll never leave you.”
I caught her friends watching us and smiling at the joy they felt for their forlorn friend who now emerged from the long dark tunnel which had been her life.
As the guests departed Katie and I stood at the door and said our goodbyes. As Gino walked out the door, Katie kissed Gino and said, “How can I ever thank you for this wonderful evening, Gino?”
“It’s my pleasure wonderful Katie. Ciao, bella. Ti amo,” he said as he kissed her hand. “Our hostess was extremely beautiful tonight. You’re a lucky man Dan.”
“I couldn’t agree more Gino,” I said as I thanked him for the magnificent feast.
At last we were alone.
“That was amazing,” Katie said.
“You’re the amazing one. I’ve been drooling all night as I watched you. I can’t take my eyes off of you.”
“Thank you. I wanted to do something special.”
“You’re off-the-charts special Katie.”
She said nothing but led me by the hand to the high-backed chair near the couch. “Wait here,” she said softly.
Katie went into her bedroom. I thought I smelled a match being lit. I looked towards her bedroom and the through the open door and saw Katie turn off the lamp. The bedroom glowed in candlelight now. Katie reappeared and stood in front of me.
“Dan, I’ve made a decision too.” Katie looked into my eyes and reached behind her neck to untie the halter top on her dress. “When I wake up on the first morning of the New Year, I want to be in your arms.”

The New Book Trailer For “The Illusion of Certainty”

The Death Of The 8 to 5 Job

I’ve been around long enough that I can almost pinpoint the moment when the standard “8 to 5” job began to change.

There was a time, not that many years ago, when my company’s executives would give us pep talks about keeping our lives “balanced.”  We should not only be dedicated to the company and our jobs but we should spend time with our families and give back to the community. 

If an employee never took their leave, your boss would likely tell you that you need to take some time off. It was important, according to the prevailing thinking at that point in time, that employees take days off  to “recharge their batteries.”  Taking some time away from the job would invigorate the employee and prevent burn out. Time off would actually re-energize the employee.

Looking back on that time, it now appears that we lived on a different planet, than the one where we now live.  

Now, no one seems concerned if an employee’s life is balanced.  In fact,  outside activities should not cut into the time you are expected to spend at the office. At one time, there was talk of working four ten-hour days to give employees a three-day weekend.  Now the standard is more like five ten-hour days. 

The quality of life for employees had deteriorated to point that where a worker needs to apologize or explain why you are leaving at 5 p.m. Generally, most offices are  full of people until 6:30. Then when you do go home, you carefully monitor e mail traffic on your Blackberry to make sure you don’t miss anything. 

The impact of this technology was that you are still mentally at the office. I came to notice that if I sent an e mail to my boss at 10 p.m., I usually got a response in a few moments. After our ten-hour day, I found myself sitting in my home already talking about the issues that my boss and colleagues would deal with when tomorrow came.

In my novel, The Illusion of Certainty, I tried to tap into the stresses created by being married to your job.  

Much of the uncertainty that comes into the life of two of the main characters, Marc and Aimee, is aggravated by the pressures at work.  Marc and Aimee schedule their days and ultimately their relationship into whatever remains of their day after work is done. Their work is often never done.

Even, when they go away to a beach house on the weekend with their best friends, two of the friends have to have conference calls on Saturday to take care of demands back at the office. This was a weekend which was key to Marc and Aimee’s repairing their tattered relationship. 

Eventually Marc discovers that Aimee was sneaking away having a torrid affair which blew their family apart. Marc was not suspicious about his wife’s long absences from home. He assumed she was just at work. 

Many Americans can relate to Marc’s story, whether they lost their own high-powered careers during the recession or find themselves completely consumed with work, putting off their time with families and maintaining relationships. 

In The Illusion of Certainty, the protagonists realize that their dedication to their job doesn’t provide security and certainty into their future. When the economy collapses and corporates are under pressure in 2008, some of the characters in the novel are unceremoniously dumped. 

Corporate America considered Marc and his co-workers “excess” when the downturn hit the bottom line. 

The crisis which came into Marc’s life after losing his job, helped him to begin to focus on the real meaning of his life.  Marc had isolated himself and became a true “road warrior” in pursuit of his company. Ultimately he discovers that the only fulfillment comes from feeling the human touch in his life. All of the business relationships are not a substitute for family relationships and ultimately love. 

 

The recurring theme in The Illusion of Certainty is that we are not in control of all of the events of our life but often are left to just react to the challenges that come upon us. 

We carefully schedule our life, keep track of our spouse and children and our daily activities. Often the control we think we have is done via technology that is available to the 21st Century men and women. 

However, any certainty we think we have in our lives is only an illusion. 

 

Coping With Fear and Uncertainty

Fear is a condition of life that we all experience. Real fear can lead to all kinds of anxieties, stresses, depression and other issues. Fear can immobilize an individual so they can no longer function. It can ruin your life and crush your dreams.
The key is learning to manage fear. In my new novel “The Illusion of Certainty” the characters cope with unforeseen events which seem to come out of nowhere.
In a bygone time there was certainty regarding your career, your job stability and plans for the future. If an individual worked hard and was a good employee at work, there was a good chance they could be there for life.
 There were certain things that could be assumed. Those assumptions were the underpinning of your life. An employee could reasonably expect that income would steadily increase each year, the stock market would provide a steady rate of return which would provide opportunity for home ownership, college education for your children, annual vacations and eventually, a comfortable retirement.
 Those assumptions seem to be relics of the 20th Century.
Now most employees work 10-12 hour days and are married to their job. Wild swings in economic fortunes continue to trouble us all and there is no certainty for our futures.
 The economic angst is just one of the uncertainties faced by characters in my new novel, “The Illusion of Certainty.”
I tried to show the human impact of the nationwide economic downturn and how someone’s life can suddenly go into a downward spiral once uncertainty enters their life.
In “The Illusion of Certainty” the characters are coping with losses that largely reflect those of Americans today, dealing with shifting social values, issues of the modern family, the flailing economy, unemployment, and the shattering of our illusions of certainty.
Although his characters go through many hard times, ultimately, they offer readers an important message about moving on and rebuilding after loss, reminding them that it is possible.
One of the main characters in the book, Marc, loses his illusions of certainty twice: the first time when he discovers his wife’s infidelity, destroying his illusions of certainty about his marriage and family, the second time when his job is “excessed” after the subprime mortgage crisis, treating his team as excess spending rather than people.
When Marc meets with his former team member, Samantha, who has suffered greatly herself, finding a job only to be informed the next day that her husband has been excessed, leaving them with one job once again, she offers him an important message about moving on. Samantha urges Marc to “snap out of it” and rebuild his life; “I think you need to snap out of it. You’ve been beat down, Marc. You’ve lost your wife and lost your job. That sucks. You’re wife is a lying skank and you worked for a heartless corporation. But, Marc, it’s time to get up off the mat!”
Samantha reminds Marc that we can “take action or be acted upon” and encourages him to take a trip that has the potential to change his outlook on life, to “do a reboot” and then “come back and kick some butt…Right now you have a big problem. It’s time to fix yourself! Use all of the talents you have and remake yourself.”
Many Americans have become disheartened by the economic situation and fall into cycles of self-fulfilling prophecies of failure, too discouraged to do something bold or be proactive in securing a new career. Just as Marc changed his life with some encouragement, readers will find that they, too, can enact the change that they desire in their own lives through the encouragement.
There are no promises that it will be easy. We will have to adapt and change and reinvent ourselves several times in the course of a career.
The key theme in my book is that “the only certainty is life is uncertainty.”