My great, great, great grandfather, Ebenezer Fletcher Stark, was the subject of my historical novel, Great Lakes Skipper. Eben died a hero when saving sailors following a shipwreck. He had three sons, Henry, Lewis, and James. The middle son, Lewis remained in Cleveland his entire life, managing the extensive property left to him by […]

The year 1832 was tumultuous for Capt. Ebenezer Stark. The worldwide Cholera epidemic had killed millions in China and Europe and found its way across the oceans killing thousands more in New York and New Orleans. Cholera stole across the Great Lakes on ships and ravaged the Western Reserve. An early Cleveland settler’s book placed […]

In 1990, I discovered a 1907 newspaper obituary of my great, great, grandfather, Henry Stark, that my grandmother had tucked into a photo album. As interesting as that was, it was the mention of Henry’s father, Captain Ebenezer Fletcher Stark, that really got me excited. The clipping said Captain Stark was a steamboat captain on […]

When Devi Snively, writer/directrix of Deviant Productions, said she wanted to make a movie of my short story, “Return to Sender,” I about wet my pants. Is this how Hollywood discoveries happen?! We shot the film in The Villages, Florida. During the planning process, I told Devi (pronounced Day-vi) I thought I knew where I […]

One of the frequent questions I get regarding my book, “Great Lakes Skipper” is what is true and what is fiction. The book was originally written in the genre of creative non-fiction. That is a narrative based on fact but allows liberties in dialogue and scene descriptions. “The Right Stuff,” the story about the first astronauts […]