A favorite part of my hobby, “pretending to be a writer” is giving talks to various groups about my books. The organizations include a number of military and aviation clubs because of my Navy flying stories, but also include library groups, service organizations, and book clubs when speaking about my historical fiction novel based on the life of my great, great, great grandfather, “Great Lakes Skipper.” Having given nearly 100 such presentations, one of the highpoints of my talks was to the Bookworm Book Club in The Villages, Florida. It is considered the “Oprah Book Club” in its 120,000-resident community. Unlike other talks where I’m selling my books, I found all 85 of the women in the audience had my book in their laps. What a terrific, enthusiastic group of readers they were, consequently never have I felt more like a rock star. That experience resulted in a significant magazine article about the book.
At a recent Author’s Expo in The Villages, several members of the Bookworm club visited my table, reaffirming their enjoyment of “Great Lakes Skipper” and commented on a recent book selection by their club they said closely followed the timeline of my Great Lakes book. “Destiny of the Republic” is about the life of James A. Garfield, 20th president of the United Sates. My grandfather on my mother’s side, Garfield Johnson, was named after the President. Naturally, I had the read the book.
The birth of James Garfield occurred a dozen years before the protagonist of my book, Ebenezer Fletcher Stark, tragically died. Garfield was raised in the Western Reserve, the focal location of my book. He attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Academy. Garfield worked on a canal boat. The Erie and Ohio Canals marked the turning point in the Western Reserve’s economic prosperity. A Civil War hero, Garfield commanded troops during the bloody battle of Chickamauga, a battle where Ebenezer’s son, James Stark, was killed. Garfield supported the anti-slavery movement, just as Ebenezer demonstrated his support by his rescue and aid to runaway slaves. President Garfield’s tragic assassination after only 200 days in office, recalled the heroic death of Ebenezer at age 46 while trying to rescue sailors after a shipwreck.
Read “Destiny of the Republic” … but only after ordering “Great Lakes Skipper” from Amazon.com or my website www.jimstarknavy.com. Want a signed copy? Contact me directly starl3217@aol.com.