Today it's my pleasure to introduce HAL D. SIMPKIN, a friend I met through the St. Louis Writers' Guild.
HAL grew up in rural St. Louis County and in Memphis,
Tenn. He graduated from Normandy High School in St. Louis. Hal
has an M.S. degree in Business Management from Lindenwood University in
St. Charles, Mo., with undergraduate work done at the University of
Missouri-St. Louis.
His two full-time employers were the United States Army and McDonnell
Aircraft Corporation in St. Louis, where he was a member of the Flight
Test Division. Extensive writing was done for both employers.
A book entitled Paired Comparisons and Personnel Compensation: A Computer-Aided Approach was written as a required thesis for his postgraduate degree. A copy is in the library at Lindenwood University.
After retirement from McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Hal began
writing for pleasure, both nonfiction and fiction. His nonfiction book, Captain William H. Thorwegen: A compilation of notes from Ruth Ferris, is in the Missouri Historical Society Library.
For a number of years, Hal served as a member of the Board of
Advisors of St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf. He also formed and
directed a corporation that designed and produced revolutionary
classroom amplifiers for teaching of the profoundly deaf.
Hal and his wife, Chris, live in Missouri.
Hal will be signing books from 1-3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1, at:
All On The Same Page Bookstore
11052
Olive Blvd., Creve Coeur, MO
If you can’t make it to the signing and want Hal's books, they're available at:
Now, let's hear more about you, Hal!
The Writers’ Lens
is about "Bringing fiction into focus."
What brings your writing into focus--e characters, the stories, the love of
words? The combination of all three.
What inspired your latest book? Memories
of my wasted youth.
What do you think readers will like about your book?
Good plot, great
characters in a nostalgic setting.
Would
you share a bit about your next project? Continuation of the Chris Christopher series. Chris has an interesting client.
What's your favorite way to interact with fans/readers? My blog. Visit it at
www.haldsimpkin
How much fact is in
your fiction? I don't remember.
What movie
star would be perfect for (your main
character) and why? Frank Sinatra at age 20-25. Look alike! He
was a great actor.
What makes
your book/characters unique? They think they're real.
What's the highest compliment someone could make about your writing? It made me think. I
liked it.
Is there a different genre or type of book you’d
love to try to write? Not really. I've done enough non-fiction for a
lifetime.
What’s your favorite writing accessory or reference? Don't have a favorite, but
I do wear out dictionaries.
What is your favorite writing/editing/query-reading
snack? Beer
and almonds.
If you could borrow one person’s zest for writing and/or life, whose and
why? Rex
Stout. He had those qualities throughout his life.
Describe the best writer you know and something wonderful
he or she has written. Do you really expect me to answer that?
Fill in the blanks: Writing/Editing books is like life. You never know what to expect.
What tune/music could be the theme song for your
book? "That Lucky Old Sun" by Frankie Lane
THE LOG CABIN GAS STATION: Chris Christopher is a people-person. And being a people-person around a
collection of quirky characters can get a guy involved in ten or a
dozen strange problems.
Chris needs funds for another year of college - so he's back at his
last-summer job as a gas-station attendant. The typical workday is
periods of furious activity with plenty of idle time for pre-semester
study. And a number of visiting loafers from the neighborhood supply
usually good, always engaging, company.
Adventure, mystery, nostalgia and romance... important ingredients in the life of a man when he and the world were young.
G-EYE: World War II is barely history when Chris Christopher, a young man
from Missouri, responds to a Selective Service notice to register for
another possible draft. At the Registrations Center he meets two army
recruiters with an interesting pitch. The army has a need for young men
who match their unusual requirements. Chris is a match.
After hurried arrangements and rapid changes to his lifestyle, Chris
closes out his college career, takes a night train for Chicago, and
meets with a couple of atypical army officers. This is where his
adventure begins.
______________________
This is T.W. Fendley. Thanks for reading and commenting on The Writers' Lens. You can find out more about me at www.twfendley.com.
6 North Café
MARGO DILL is the author of Finding My Place: One Girl’s Strength atVicksburg (White Mane Kids, October 2012) and has two picture books under
contract with St. Louis publishers. 
Besides
age of characters, the biggest thing that makes a book middle-grade is the
voice and way that the author deals with various subjects and themes. In Finding My Place towards the beginning,
Anna and her family have to run to a cave built behind their house because the
Yankees are bombing their city. During the escape, her mother is hit with a
shell and dies. This is a pretty serious theme for middle-grade. However, if I
was writing it for a YA audience, I would have described more of the death and
the body as well as the devastation that the main character was feeling.
Because it is a middle-grade novel, I explained that the mother was hit and
killed. Then I have one scene where they
are all sad and trying to figure out what to do. There’s a difference in the
“war”—it is not as graphic in my middle-grade novel as it would be if I was
writing a YA novel for teens.
Today it's my pleasure to introduce HAL D. SIMPKIN, a friend I met through the St. Louis Writers' Guild. 
Welcome to SHAWNTELLE MADISON, a friend I met through the St. Louis Writers Guild. Shawntelle is a web developer who loves to weave words as
well as code. She’d never admit it, but if asked she’d say she covets
and collects source code. After losing her first summer job detassling
corn, Shawntelle performed various jobs—from fast-food clerk to grunt
programmer to university webmaster. Writing eccentric characters is her
most favorite job of them all. On any particular day when she’s not
surgically attached to her computer, she can be found watching cheesy
horror movies or the latest action-packed anime. She lives in Missouri
with her husband and children.
