Harry Hoge

Harry Hoge

In 1987, I bought a “how to book” from the college bookstore in Nacogdoches, Texas. I was Dean of Science and Mathematics at the time and was in the midst of a mid-live crisis. I had no money for a sports car and if I ran away from home, I would go broke before I reached the Mexican border. I set a goal to accomplish three things: Write a novel, Learn to sail and learn to ride a horse like an expert.

Sailing and horse riding would need to wait. I was at work, so during lunch, I went to the College Book Store across the street from my office and bought for a paperback book on how to write a novel. I have read several meters of book-self of how-to write books since, but at the time I had all I needed. My first attempt: a Western entitled Mogollon. I took me about a month. Wow longer than I suspected.

What to do next.

The light bulb said, “This is a University. Go to the library and search the periodicals for Writer’s guides.” I opened a starling world for myself that has held me rapt for 31 years. Mogollon became a short story and I grew my warts and bruises rewriting my first novel, Jajadeh: Mountain Spirit 16 times.

After several more journeys into history, Bill Walls and I decide to work together. Bill and I served in the Marine Corps together and became livelong friends (To which Bill would say, Not Yet.). Bill was working a Cartoon series called Homer Headback. Family life with Homer, Hilda, son Harold and the dog Jose. Bill also ran a series titled Off The Walls. He mentioned he had always wanted to write a story titled Send Out the Clowns. We enjoyed inventing a close knit Homicide team from HPD lead by Sergent Frank Rivers. Bill had a stroke the same month the book was released. We managed a four book series with the HPD Detectives, beforewe decided to do an eratz series on our experience as Marines and Good Friends.

Soon after Bill returned home he called me and I went to view a Poster for SOTC he and his wife made. Amazingly work through the stroke gvig us six strong novels together.

When I retired and moved from Houston we only worked on one book, before we grew tired of the e-mail-conference. I develoved another Police procedure series with a twist I call The Retriever, a freelance private investigator. As I worked on the final of this story I received a call from a glassmate from Ohio Weslyan in 1954. James R. Hoy wrote the lead with me of a Political Satire Novel ― Sinoff. We are currently working on the sequel, The Education of Shelten Goddard.