Gary Vaughan's Collaboration Times

NPR's Writer's Almanac

I have started listening occasionally to Garrison Keillor's daily Writer's Almanac on NPR on my commute into work in the morning.  These segments are also available (in text or podcast) at this link.  I find his brief, 5 minute notes on historically significant figures (tied to that day's date) and poetry readings to be compelling.  And his programs are also a great example of social media content transmitted through simple radio, podcasting and blog technology!

By chance, last Wednesday I caught his reading of a poem by Julie Cadwallader-Staub entitled Map (you can listen to it or see the poem's text).  It is a poignant story about family, generations, loss - and of course, maps, which continue to fascinate me.

 

 

Summer Reading...

Here are some summer reading recommendations (with a few days out sick, I have been able to get to some books on my list):

- The Last Stand:  Custer, Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, by Nathaniel Philbrick.  An excellent book, which I was able to finish.  Custer comes off rather well, but there are more critical portraits of his subordinate officers, Benteen and Reno, and a tough assessment of the equivocal, lawyer-like command style of General Terry.  Also great depictions of life as it was on the plains, including Sitting Bull's role as the cautious rebel among the Sioux. 

I have always found Custer and the Last Stand fascinating (I visited the Big Horn battle site in Montana on a Smithsonian trip in the 90s).  This book would either be a great introduction or a fresh perspective for anyone already well-versed on the battle.

- Matterhorn:  A Novel of the Vietnam War, by Karl Marlantes.  I am about a third way through this well written novel about the travails of a small company of Marines in the jungles of Vietnam.  While at times I long to get out of the "bush" (so well ceated is the soldier's world in this book), it is a good read, and one rapidly becomes caught up with the characters.  Equally compelling is the fact that the author had been working on the book and seeking a publisher over the past few decades...an inspiration for all us writers!

- C.S. Forrester Hornblower series.  I often find myself re-reading books from this excellent series.  They follow the action-packed career of Horatio Hornblower as he commands British naval vessels during the Napoleonic wars.  I continue to be struck by Forrester's complex characterization of Hornblower - at once analytical, decisive and (when necessary) ruthless, while also sensitive, humble and a closet reformer of a brutal Royal Navy system driven by the pursuit of prize money.

Good books to start with in this series would be Hornblower and the Atropos (where he and his small sloop-of-war test wits with the Turks in pursuit of sunken treasure), Commodore Hornblower (where he experiences both diplomatic intrigue and battle as he commands a flotilla in the Baltic), or, if you are short on time, the collection of short stories or unfinished pieces in the excellent Hornblower During the Crisis.

On my future reading list (once I get another break!):

- Vicksburg 1863, by Winston Groom, a short, summary treatment of this challenging and crucial Union victory during the Civil War.

Review my short story, "The Courier"!

As promised in a prior blog post, here is the world publishing debut of my first short story, a romantic tale, set in 1960s Cyprus riven by ethnic conflict.  Be the first to review it here!  Below is a short excerpt, and the full text is on this link.  

   
Jonathan’s mission in the Troodos had at last freed him from the tiresome tending of visa applicants in the capital.  And it was an important and risky assignment:  carry a pouch jammed with cables, film and reports to the western port of Paphos, deliver them by fast boat to Athens for transmission to Washington, and then return with needed blank passports, cables from home, and a few key parts for the post’s aging teletype machine......

Launch of my literary career...

Last March I completed a great six week workshop on how to write a short story at The Writer's Center in Bethesda. 

We had both a great instructor, author Dana Cann, as well as a supportive group of other aspiring writers.  This was my first venture into creative writing since high school, and the first fiction workshop I had ever taken.  I enjoyed the format where students' write one or two stories and then share them with the instructor and peers for comment.  We also referred to some excellent sample stories from The Best American Short Stories: 2009.

During the course I wrote and shared for critiques two stories inspired by my overseas experience in Cyprus and Malta.  What I felt was my best story, "The Courier", was recently rejected for publication by the Foreign Service Journal for their summer fiction contest. 

Undaunted, I plan to keep on writing (with my family's continued patience and understanding!).  I also will try and publish this story elsewhere online or through this blog - please watch this space!