Ninety-one years ago, today--September 2, 1935--one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever make landfall in the US came ashore at Matecumbe Key, FL. That storm inspired the characters and climax of my novel, Hemingway's Girl.

On her husband's birthday, allow me to present the notorious antagonists of my novel, THE LAST TWELVE MILES, and some of the research that fed the story. Marie Waite was the brains behind the operation that was intercepted & ended by US CG cryptanalyst Elizebeth Smith Friedman.

They hung an axe on their home library wall, as a deterrent to book thieves.

Writers, Great reminder: "[They] decided to go grassroots, ignoring major national markets and just focusing locally. They saturated the media with cooking ideas, all tethered to current or seasonal trends...A few months [in] they got a call from a major NY publishing house."

It was an honor to attend last week's Vietnam Exhibit, with the Lockport NY Arts Council, to discuss my novel about combat correspondent Dickey Chapelle, THE LAST ASSIGNMENT. Here's a brief highlight from the event. Link to full conversation below.

On Hemingway’s birthday, I’ll tell you about how a dream about him became my first book deal. 🧵