What's Up?

By default this is an "I" page. I am grateful for the extremely broad range of experiences I’ve had and the variety of people I’ve known. I'm into my sixth life and still meeting people who are unlike any I've previously known. While none of these  people or events relating to them is replicated in my stories, each has contributed in some way to who I am and how I think.
Next project?
And while, I confess, it wasn't always true, I can now look back and be grateful for having been born into an unemployed laborer's family in the depth of the Great Depression. While my brother Arlen and I were raised on an overdose of humility, somehow we also picked up the message that there are opportunities out there, and one has to search them out and drive hard to pursue them in order to have a hand in shaping his destiny.

Those of us born on the wrong side of the tracks during the Great Depression quickly learned the words, "make do." There were few if any store-bought toys. If our recreation demanded equipment or props, we created them. When the T-shaped wooden lath used to push the round, metal barrel hoop down the gravel road got broken, it was remade into a sword . . . or a rifle. To us, "imagine" was not simply a word or activity. It was an existence. We were shaped by circumstances to become a creative generation.

At this point, some readers have picked up the clue that I'm strongly influenced by our great American writer, John Steinbeck. Most certainly. Not only did he entertain, he cut into the core of Americana during the Great Depression and examined the fibers of character that kept us on our feet and moving forward. And to struggling masses around the world he sent a powerful message that said, "Hang in there, Dudley. It could be worse."

No, I don't attempt to emulate Steinbeck. Few are that good. But I, too, am driven to understand that quality in us that keeps one going when there is every reason to give up. My "common man" characters may not feed on the Grapes of Wrath, but they are challenged by powerful forces for which they are not prepared.

For nearly twelve years, Buffy and I walked through our neighborhood park every afternoon after work, sometimes jogging together, and always stopping to greet our many canine and people friends. Small and medium-sized dogs were quiet and respectful as they waited to get their nose-touch. Somehow they knew they shouldn't mess with Buffy. Large dogs were extremely cautious, for they knew also. And Buffy could tell you at fifty feet whether or not the approaching people liked animals.
Consider this. . . .

Many of you have told this unknown author that you like his stories, his characters, and his page-turning action. He thanks you! But he's greedy. He wants more. No, it's not money or fame he seeks. It's readers he's after. And you can help the cause! One of the strongest single marketing tools to put stories into the hands of new readers is the Reader Review on such sites as amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. With but a few clicks and a few minutes of thoughtful composition, you can bring new readers into the fold. They'll listen to you, and it's amazing what five stars can do. For some time he wondered how he might get  readers to take this step. Then it occurred to him, "Ask them."
One of the contenders has the working title  The Flying Wegie and will be a departure from the adventure-thriller and historical fiction genres. It is the true story of Buffy, a most incredible blessing in my life.

Buffy, a four-footed guy who was one third of our family for exactly fifteen years and eleven months, wore a gorgeous tan fur coat and sported a "happy tail" that stood tall and straight  most of the time. His vet and many of his friends referred to him as "that Norwegian Forest Cat," hence, Wegie. But when I reflect on his intelligence and his communication skills, ingenuity, and loyalty, I'm reluctant to use the word, "cat." It seems inadequate. Indeed, hundreds of times he  pushed my thoughts into the realm of reincarnation.
Everybody's favorite was his "show time."  Buffy would scamper five feet up a favorite tree, then stop. I would unhook his leash, pat him on the rump, and send him scrambling up the tall tree where he would frolic about, leaping as much as eight feet from branch to branch like a squirrelized trapeze artist.  When, after ten or fifteen minutes, he gauged that it was time for the drum roll and the finale, he would fly his way down to a lower branch, usually ten to fifteen feet above the ground. Calling me over, he would pause for audience effect and then jump gracefully to my left shoulder. I promised that the shoulder would always be there, and he promised to land perfectly balanced using no claws. In hundreds of jumps, we never missed . . . and he never scratched.
(Photo by Julie Kuhle)
Novels by Roger A. Naylor
". . . .so real one forgets that it's fiction."
Please feel free to e-mail your comments, questions, and suggestions. I love to hear from old friends.

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   The times they are a-changin'. . . . So what else is new? The new e-book formats, Kindle, Nook, et al.  Like so many authors, I've been carefully watching this scene. Is it just a craze for the younger "button pushers," or will it sweep through the serious readers among the middle-aged, the boomers, and even us old fools?
   It's for real, folks, and we now offer a variety of e-book conversions for two of my novels: The Cobra Conspiracy and A Paper Statue. 
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Amazon.com now offers both novels in their Kindle format. Barnes and Noble is ready with both in their Nook Books format. And our publisher, iUniverse, has converted both books to a wide variety of e-book formats: Mobi for Kindle, ePub for Nook, Sony eReader, Kobo eReader, iBooks (for iPad, iPhone, and iPod), Stanza, and Bluefire (for iOS and Android), in addition to PDF for PCs. Now comes the effort to get Black Rock Bay converted.