Saturday, January 31, 2009

Attracting Attention to Oneself

On p. 3, Will has just arrived in Philadelphia. He's overcome by the gaudy Christmas lights that hurt his eyes and says, "It amazed me how much some people liked to attract attention to themselves." Well, this is the last thing Will wants to do.

I'm always struck when people do things differently than I do. For example, a cab driver takes a different route to somewhere. Sometimes the new way is actually better than the old. It's amazing.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Friday, January 30, 2009

The Hook

Will says, on p. 2, "One more thing. I'm not the person I was then. But until you finish, you won't realize how profoundly different I am now."

This is a hook to get the reader into the book the book.

What do you think? Did it work? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Thursday, January 29, 2009

First Person Retrospective Point of View

Will says, on p. 2: "What, you don't understand what I mean? I suppose I should tell you the whole story from the beginning, at least from where I came into it."

The story flows according to what I call first person retrospective. The narrator is speaking about his experience in the past. You can bring the reader right into the story while freeing yourself from some of the restrictions of first person present. The narrator then understands his actions differently at the time the story is told from than at the time the action takes place.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Mood

On p. 1, I wrote: "At ten to eight on a rainy and muffled Philadelphia night, a week after Thanksgiving. Cars sizzled around Rittenhouse Square."

I was going after a mood and a feel, much like the opening of LeCare's novel, A Small Town In Germany. It sets such a mood and feel that you want to dive into whatever world LeCare is going to paint for us. Cars don't just go around the square, they "sizzled." I was trying to evoke the sound of tires on wet pavement against a drab, muffled world.

Did I succeed? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Introductions

"Later the homeless kid Ben..." begins the book. I wanted to have a homeless kid to lay the groundwork for later. The kid tells Henry and Will what happened when Ian fell to his death from the balcony. Then the account of the death follows.

Philadelphia has a homeless "problem." They sleep on the grates, or in the buttonwood trees, under the overpasses, and around the square. It's a tough life. Right now it's cold. Our city is better than most in that the city tracks all homeless and does what it can to move them into shelters and off the streets. The highest functioning of them are put into group homes. But it's tough for them.

Using Ben as my mouthpiece, I wanted to give a kind of grittiness to the narrative.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Purpose of Education

In every educational institution, music, science, or other, there is always a debate about the mission of the institution, what education means, how it relates to the wider world, how the school should relate, and what exactly musical education should involve. The issue of power and control complicate the debate. And the institution has to compete as well, so the school has to worry about its brand and how to differentiate itself from other schools.

These issues have always been hotly debated at Curtis, so I had to build them into the Kearney mystery. Should the school teach jazz? What about teaching other subjects. Henry definitely has a position on this and was at odds with Ian. Should it stick strictly to its core mission of teaching talented teenagers how to be performers, or should it do more? The more different things you do the more you dilute your ability to do any one of them well.

This is an issue for writers as well.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Will's Hat

On p. 6, Henry grabs Will's hat off his head when they go down to dinner. Will likes the hat on. He likes the limitations the hat provides. He complains when Henry does it. Henry at some level sees that Will needs to move beyond his current self.

I'm not sure Henry consciously realizes it at the time or Will knows it either but that's what it means. Later in the story, Henry doesn't try to keep Will from wearing it, which means that Henry's more comfortable with Will's limitations.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Future and Writing Science Fiction

I'll never write science fiction again. Again you ask. My next one takes place in the near future and everything that seemed innovative is now passe. It's getting harder and harder to write science fiction, because by the time the book gets into print, the future of the novel is the present. From now on I'll stick to timeless things set in the near past.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Friday, January 23, 2009

Symbols

A symbol is "an image or object that stands for something else, e.g., a bluebird represents happiness." See Laurel Yourke, Take Your Characters to Dinner Lanham, New York: University Press of America, 2000, p. 202.

Using a symbol is a good way of communicating without beating the reader up. For example, on P. 5, Will notes that Henry's cello used to dominate the room: "Your Strad, I remember now. It was right here, in the very middle of the room." Henry's cell used to be central to his life. Now it's gone. "What happened to it?" Will asks Henry. Henry replies: "I gave it to a young Swedish cellist." Now the absence of the cello dominates Henry's life and the giving it away symbolizes his generosity and the centrality of that generosity to his personality.

Henry's not always so generous, though. And symbols should not call attention to themselves. Then they become annoying. They should be used to advance the story, not distract from it.

What do you think about this? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Rant against literary agents

I made Julie a literary agent so I could complain about them. She and Will are talking on p. 15. Julie is complaining that she gets too many query letters. I remember back during one of two periods in which I was trying to recruit a literary agent (Each time I was successful, but they never showed me any production.) often I would get just a post card saying, "So sorry I have to respond in this impersonal way but I they get just soooo many manuscripts."

Isn't that what they want? So it's our fault because we're seeking representation.

Well, that ends my rant against literary agents. I think good, caring, helpful literary agents are a social good, don't get me wrong. Not many of them are good in this way, however.

What do you think about the setting? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Monday, January 19, 2009

Henry Harrier's Limp

I gave Henry Harrier a limp. It shows a limitation in his character that he overcomes when he gets on the chase. Orlando Cole, his inspiration, does not have a limp but he definitely is single minded in pursuit of whatever.

When a writer creates a character, they have to build walls that he or she must break through or which affect his or her path to whatever the character wants to achieve. How he or she overcomes them or how they defeat them is the stuff of story.

What do you think about the setting? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Philadelphia as a Setting

Where to set a story? I think where you know the place. It would be hard for me to tell a story that takes place in Boise, Idaho, for example, because I have never been there. Unless you're creating a fictional world like Tolkien did in Lord of the Rings. Writing well is so hard, why put yourself through extra effort.

Philadelphia is a wonderful setting for any story. It's a big city, so you have lots of neat stuff like crime, noise, and dirt. It has dozens of historical sites, so you have that. It reeks with art, dance, music, and drama. It's in a beautiful natural setting with the rivers. It's an old city, too. Fantastic.

I chose Philadelphia because the incident that triggers it was handed to me by my brother-in-law, David Cole. I could have put it somewhere else, but I don't think it would work as well, unless it's in New York. But I don't know New York.

What do you think about the setting? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Orlando Cole at 100 Years

In February, Orlando, model for Henry Harrier, will be half-way through his 101st year of life. He's still alive and kicking in his retirement center. He'll soon be moving down to the assisted living center because he really has too many issues to continue to live totally on his own. As he says, "When you're 100, something has to go."

My wife and I have dinner with him 2-3 times a week. It's an honor to have know him. He's been an institution in American classical music since he graduated from the Curtis Institute in the early 1930s. On top of having experienced American history for more than a century now. He was alive when electricity was new, the car was still new, before computers, before radio, television, Spam even. As the cellist of the Curtis String Quartet for 50 years, he and his three partners literally invented the professional string quartet. Certainly they were part of a trend that made chamber music a very big business, one bringing joy to millions of people, and good living to those lucky enough to find their way through it.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Writing as Extended Enterprise

I just finished a post on hatman2.blogspot.com, my entrepreneurship blog about extended enterprises. Here's what Information Builder says:

The term "extended enterprise" represents the concept that a company is made up not just of its employees, its board members, and executives, but also its business partners, its suppliers, and even its customers. The extended enterprise can only be successful if all of the component groups and individuals have the information they need in order to do business effectively.
When I was writing this book I thought of myself as one who wrote who would then give it to my agent. I was thinking of myself in isolation from the world. Writer in the ivory tower spinning out the next great American novel. In reality, the writer is node in a loose web of organizations and individuals including editors, agents, publishers, bookstores, e-publishing enterprises, etc., with the end point being the reader. And these days, even if the writer is using a mainstream publisher, he or she is going to have to do more of what publishers traditionally have done. All of these entities are part of a vast supply chain involved in getting the "product", the book, to the user, the "reader."

The sooner writers realize this--they are really entrepreneurs--the easier it will be for them.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Agency Dilemma and Getting Published

I was writing in Entrepreneurship 2.0, my entrepreneurship course, about what's called the "principal agent problem" or agency dilemma.

According to Wikipedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia:

[The] agency dilemma treats the difficulties that arise under conditions of incomplete and asymmetric information when a principal hires an agent. Various mechanisms may be used to try to align the interests of the agent with those of the principal, such as piece rates/commissions, profit sharing, efficiency wages, performance measurement (including financial statements), the agent posting a bond, or fear of firing. The principal-agent problem is found in most employer/employee relationships, for example, when stockholders hire top executives of corporations. Numerous studies in political science have noted the problems inherent in the delegation of legislative authority to bureaucratic agencies.
I have to tell you I've had two agents in my life, and I have no evidence that they ever worked on my behalf. Now a percent of royalties is supposed motivate them, but if the agent has Elmore Leonard and Tim Bosworth as clients, guess who he's going to spend more time on.

I solved my dilemma by taking control of my own destiny and eliminating from my mind any thought of ever having another agent unless one of them can get me a movie deal.

Got an agent? Is he or she working for you? How would you know. You know, you can order a copy of my murder mystery right from here. What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to and click on www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

In the end, They're Just Kids.

I went to the first concert of the spring, 2009, student recital series. A fantastic young violinist from Australia, named Ray Chen (Doesn't sound very Australian, does he?) played Johannes Brahms' 2nd violin sonata. Then a girl from Jacksonville, FL, played William Walton's Viola Concerto.

Now I love the Brahms, but not the Walton. It's sonorous, and lively, and dark, and light hearted, and funny. But things happen for no apparent reason. Whenever I listen to his music, whatever it is, I keep asking myself why I am listening to this set of notes when I could be listening to another set of notes. I never ask myself that when I listen to anything by Brahms or Mozart, or Beethoven, or about two-dozen other composers.

But back to the kids. Jana Pope was one of these kids, absolutely amazing both in their presence on the stage, their technical abilities on their instruments, their musicality, and maturity. And because they have such spirit, they're extremely beautiful and fun to watch play. The girls always put on a style show, the boys not so much. You get a terrific performance, a beauty pageant, and a style show, all at the same time.

But it's funny, when you pass these kids on the street, they're just kids, under the same pressures that a lot of kids are under.

This is part of what got me as I worked on this book. They have these tremendous skill sets they've been working at since they were little, but in the end, they're just kids.

If you want to go to Curtis Institute concerts, they're free and open to the public. You can find the schedule of them at www.curtis.edu.

What about this? Want to read more? Click on the book or order it right from here. What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Monday, January 12, 2009

Demographic Shift Among Classical Music Performers

On p. 33, Will comments about the shift in students at Kearney from Jewish boys to Asian girls.

This is based in reality. Landy Cole pointed this out to me when he gave me a tour of the Curtis Institute as I was preparing to write this story.

Why that is, he's not sure, except that the shift is real and not just confined to the Curtis Institute.

Go to a concert at the Curtis Institute today and it won't be unusual to see a whole recital comprised of female Asian players. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

What about this? Want to read more? Click on the book or order it right from here. What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Henry Harrier's Character, Part 25--Focus

Witness this, from p. 31: Henry's voice focused me on the task at hand. 'Let's get going,' he said. 'Reach in the credenza there, my boy, and pull everything out. Then copy and label everything I tell you to.'

What about this? Want to read more? Click on the book or order it right from here. What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Henry Harrier's Character, Part 24--Bending rules

Henry isn't afraid to step back from the law from time to time. Or, as Sister Aloysius, Meryl Streep's character in Doubt says, "Sometimes you have to step away from the Lord, but in the Lord's service," or words to that effect. Henry would agree with. Witness this bit of interplay from pp. 27-8:

The taxi drove away, and Henry handed me a pair of gloves, 'Here, put these on.'
'Gloves?' I said, shivering from the cold.
'Your powers of observation are particularly acute this morning,' Henry said.
'Isn't this just a little obvious?' My hands were shaking so much I could hardly get the gloves on.
'Obvious?' said Henry.
'I mean, what's it going to look like? We're going to rob the place?'
Henry shrugged: 'In a sense we are."
What about this? Want to read more? Click on the book or order it right from here. What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Friday, January 9, 2009

Henry Harrier's Character, Part 23--Fast-moving

Henry is nothing if not fast-moving. Smiley was also, and Orlando Cole certainly still is, even at 100. And Sherlock would move fast, too, when "the game was afoot." But Sherlock had the ability to relax when he knew there was nothing to be done about it.

Well, here's Julie's and Will's testimony to Henry's speed. Here's Julie talking:

'Are you going to be home by Christmas?'
I [Will] chuckled. 'At your father's pace he'll wrap it up in a few days.'
'I wonder about that pace,' she said. 'And he's almost 90.
'Never slows down for anything, does he?' I said.
'Especially not his daughter.'
Here's Julie's resentment creeping in at Henry for not being as involved with her as she would have liked him to be.

What about this? Are fathers as involved as they should be? Want to read more? Click on the book or order it right from here. What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Henry Harrier's Character, Part 22--Persuasiveness

Henry is nothing if not persuasive. Witness this dialogue between Julie (Henry's daughter and Will's wife) and Will on pp. 18-19:

I [Will] said we were going over to the Kearney School after he got back...
'Why are yougoing?' she said.
'To help him,' I said.
After a pause, 'You're going to help him?'
'He asked me to.'
'You said you would?'
'Yes," I said.
'He asked you to help him, and you said "yes."'
'You know yourself how convincing he is.'


Want to read more? Click on the book or order it right from here. What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Henry Harrier's Character, Part 21--Trustworthiness

Well, back to positive qualities. I gave Henry almost all good qualities but a couple of challenges so he could overcome them during the course of the story. Will has more bad qualities (Does that say something about me?) because who wants to read about a really bad guy, unless he's so bad you want to read to see how he gets his "come-uppance" or if he does.

But sometimes, it's best just to let a third character tell a second character about the character you're characterizing.

For example, this bit of exposition from p. 17. Will's speaking to Julie over the phone:

"Dad's a natural," she said.

I asked her what she meant. She explained how Henry could find out just about anything about anybody. People would tell him things they'd never tell anyone else. He seemed to know stuff without anyone knowing how he did it."
Here's Henry's perception and insight coming into it. I figured if I were successful in building Henry's character such that he would just know stuff, I could make the story go along more smoothly and the reader would more easily suspend disbelief when we got to a tricky part. Of course this ability of Henry's doesn't make Will feel very secure when he's trying to hide a big part of himself, as the next couple of sentences, which I didn't quote, show.

Do you thing it worked? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Henry Harrier's Character, Part 20--Disrespectfulness

Henry has a dark side. He's not all sweetness and light. For example, he has a daughter who he has never really paid attention to, all the while showing devotion to his students.

Witness this from p. 16. Henry's running off to visit Mei Lee in jail, falsely Henry knows. Will is talking with Julie. She's telling him her frustrations on the job: "He act's like I'm not even important," she says.

She is talking about her new boss, but as we find as we read along, she's really talking about Henry. A boss as a father? I think Julie had some interesting character traits of her own.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Monday, January 5, 2009

Henry Harrier's Character, Part 19--Insight

Henry not only has understanding, he has insight. He can perceive what is not apparent as well as what is.

Witness this bit of dialog from p. 15. It comes during the time Henry is being interviewed by Fenton et. al.: He says to Will, "Do you know you were very good back there?" Will says, "I was?" Henry says: "I almost thought you'd become invisible."

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Challenges

Characters face challenges. Challenges are what show what characters are made of. Is your character a victim or a warrior.

A victim, when faced with adversity, says, "Why does this have to happen to me?" A warrior says, "Let's see what I can do to overcome this." Think like a warrior, folks, who sees problems as obstacles to overcome.

A character is like a muscle: it only grows when stressed. It's always better for people to read about a warrior than a victim. A victims are annoying after a while, unless through overcoming some challenge, he or she becomes a warrior.

In the movie Shrek, Shrek exhibited both kinds of thinking. He went off in search of the princess and acted like a warrior. Then when he thought the princess was going to spurn him acted like a victim. But by the end of the film, he regained his status as a leader. We like to see those we root for succeed.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Friday, January 2, 2009

Henry Harrier's Character, Part 18--Devotion

Henry was devoted to his students. If they worked hard and learned their art and improved their skills, both performance and technical, he gave everything to them. To the extent that Julie thought he cared more about them than about her.

On pp. 12-13, this dialogue:

Fenton stood up again and looked down at Henry. "Hen, do this thing. If not for us, then for Mei." ...[Mei Lee was his favorite student]
"All right," Henry said opening his eyes, "You win."
Henry who has up to this point steadfastly refused to intervene, now changes his mind because of his devotion to his favorite student.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Writing is, to me, an entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ideas are the life's blood of my writing. For my entrepreneurial course, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com. For entrepreneurial real estate to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog

Synopsis:

Ian Kearney, the director of the Kearney Music School, an elite musical training school in Philadelphia, dies after a fall from a balcony during a recital. World-famous cellist, Henry Harrier, recently forced from the faculty, returns to investigate Ian's death when his prized former student is arrested. Henry shows through his brilliant and single-minded pursuit of the truth that, as usual, they have it all wrong. This Sherlock Holmes-type mystery leads the reader through the world of classical music and lays bare the conflicts which dominate the lives of talented adolescents when placed under the pressure of studying for a demanding, stressful, and often elusive career as a classical music performer. Henry Harrier is part John Le Carre's George Smiley, part Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes, and part Orlando Cole the beloved teacher, renowned chamber musician, and until his own retirement, the premier cellist of the Curtis Institute.

Author Profile:

Tim was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on January 30, 1946. In 1951 he moved with his family to Schenectady, New York, where he lived through high school. He attended Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, from 1964 to 1968. He graduated in 1968 with a B.A. in history and philosophy. He received his Ph. D. in history in U.S. history in 1980 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after spending 2.5 years in the U. S. Army. Most of his army service was completed in Wuerzburg, Germany, from 1969-1971. In 1972 he returned to Madison to complete his doctoral study. His dissertation, Those Who Moved; Internal Migrants in American 1607-1840, combined the statistical analysis of genealogical and biographical data with the study of traditional literary diaries, letters, and journals.

Tim was a market and survey research consultant from 1983 to 2000 and a smoking cessation researcher from 2000 to 2003. His consulting practice focused primarily on conducting community health needs assessment. He authored hundreds of market research reports and published a number of his assessments in Community Health Needs Assessment published by McGraw Hill in 1996 and in a revised volume published in 1999. In 2000 he joined the staff of the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he conducted smoking cessation research. He published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and spoke at national smoking cessation conferences.

In 2003 he moved to Philadelphia and earned his real estate license. He now practices real estate, works on publishing his novels, and studies and teaches entrepreneurship.Tim has written a dozen novel-length stories, a volume of short stories, and about a 3-foot stack of pages poetry. He is currently working on earning his 4th million in real estate sales, publishing his novels, and working on an entrepreneurish handbook as a support for his students.

Tim is a trained violist and an experienced string quartet player. He is an avid listener to classical music and regularly attends classical music concerts. He has two grown children by his first wife and a stepdaughter with his second wife. He likes to cook, read, write, entertain, develop relationships, and help other people. Formerly Tim used to travel frequently. He doesn't so much anymore. Now he regards the combination of real estate practice, writing and publishing, and the teaching and studying of entrepreneurship as enough of a trip.