Escape from Silence

My father was a decorated bomber pilot out of World War Two. A chemist, a farmer, a furniture maker and a boatbuilder, he was a man who I thought could do anything. He died when I was thirteen. My mom packed up my sister, brother and me, left Chicago and returned to her roots in Southern California. After high school and while enrolled at UCLA, I spent every summer as an instructor for the Colorado Outward Bound School. After graduating UCLA, and by the kind efforts of Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews, I ended up working in Hollywood. My entertainment career included being president of CBS Television, writing, producing and directing. I'm also a pilot, a woodworker, a welder, a writer, a car fanatic and a fierce defender of the environment and animals. This novel is an idea that has incubated inside me for thirty years. I finally wrote it at the urging of my junior high school teacher from Chicago. I often wonder if I've unconsciously tried to mirror my father.