After years of hearing folks say that it seemed as though I could talk about old cars for hours and enjoy myself even when alone, I decided to try sharing my fascination with all things automotive through the written word. Much to my surprise the first submission sold to a prestigious publication, Special Interest Autos published by Hemmings Motor News.
Flush with the excitement of my first sale the decision was made to apply my new found formula for success to my second passion, travel and adventures on the road less traveled. For this endeavor I drew strength from a long list of acquaintances that told me I had a gift for telling folks where to go in such a manner that they looked forward to the trip. Again, my first submission sold to a leading magazine, Route 66.
Well, that was in 1990. By 1992 with the stack of rejection notices dwarfing the approvals and checks, the vision of quitting the day job that was fueled by initial success was a fast fading dream. Still, I clung to it like a dog with a bone. I still do.
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The highlights of a life lived as a starving artist on Route 66 and the road less traveled during this past twenty years are many. There were family trips to Colonial Williamsburg and San Diego, San Francisco and Chicago, Denver and Bisbee.
Father and son trips are a favorite memory and there were many. Rated http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=1968adventurer&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0760332215&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrhigh on my list of favorites was an adventure to Chattanooga that provided an opportunity for me to introduce David to a favorite childhood haunt, Sand Mountain in Alabama, and to family that still lived there.
During this past three or four years the scope of the adventures has grown in direct correlation to the size of the projects. In writing Backroads of Arizona, my dearest friend and I found ample excuses for spending most weekends exploring this amazing state.
These adventures also served as a foundational element in the writing of Ghost Towns of the Southwest. This book was our incentive to retire the 1973 Olds and the well worn Crown Victoria wagon, and replace them with the Jeep Cherokee.
The current project, a Route 66 encyclopedia and atlas is built on the research and adventurers that went into writing of Ghost Towns of Route 66, scheduled for release next http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=1968adventurer&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=076032817X&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrJune at the big international Route 66 festival in Amarillo. Another foundational element for this work was the research and writing of Route 66 Backroads.
As 2010 is the 20th anniversary of my adventure as a writer, it is quite fitting that it has been the best yet. There have been trips to Missouri that led to the meeting of Laurel Kane at Afton Station and Melba at 4 Women on the Route, and adventures to California and Prescott.
The financial rewards of writing may have proved elusive but the benefits have been beyond my wildest dreams. The adventures, the people met, and the friends made as a result of my writing endeavors have been truly priceless.
Perhaps that is why I continue the quest and strive to fulfill the childhood dream of becoming a writer while keeping a day job that supports the writing habit.
