I have always been a writer, from my school days when I was
editor of my high school newspaper. In an earlier career, I wrote several
non-fiction books for a trade association on construction-related topics along
with numerous articles for their newspaper. My writing career hit full swing
when I retired from the association in 2004.
I first decided I wanted to write a novel to tell about my
experiences in the Vietnam War. But I wanted it to be an entertaining story and
not be only about death and horror. I wanted to tell about some of the
illusions and delusions of war and some of the humorous and amorous aspects of
the conflict.
I decided to call it Cologne No. 10 for Men — “cologne”
being something to mask the stench of war, “No. 10” meaning “very bad” in
Vietnamese culture, and “for men” because back then the war was conducted by
men, most of whom were very young. Writer’s Digest and Kirkus reviewers
compared my book to Catch-22, M.A.S.H. and The Things They Carried.
In my October 22, 2014 blog post Fact or Fiction in Vietnam*, I told many of the differences between
reality and fantasy in the book. You will find the link to that blog post at
the end of my story. The reviewer from the Vietnam Veterans of America, David
Willson, said, “There aren’t very many funny Vietnam War
infantry books. This is one of them. Read it and be
amazed.”
I wrote Well
Considered, my second novel, when I became interested in Maryland
history, particularly in Prince George’s County. In 1850, half of the residents
of the county were enslaved. Most lived on tobacco plantations that surrounded
mansions. Jim Crow segregation began with the Plessy-Ferguson Supreme Court
decision in 1896 and lasted until the 1960s with segregated schools, drinking
fountains, bathrooms, theaters, housing developments, etc.
There were twenty-eight lynching’s in Maryland, and one report
said that there were lynching’s near what is now Bowie State University as late
as 1907. I was shocked and decided to investigate. I consulted books and
archives and the Baltimore Sun newspaper, which carried reports of lynching’s
from across the country. I was unable to corroborate the report, although I did
find one such case in Annapolis in late 1906. Nevertheless, I decided to write
a novel in which the protagonist would do the same research that I did, trying
to find out why his great-grandfather was lynched. I wanted to show Maryland
history and provide background for discussions of racial justice and
reparations. Some say the book is similar to Sycamore
Row by John Grisham, which came out years after
I wrote Well Considered.
My third novel, Canoedling
in Cleveland, was based on my experiences canoeing all the
rivers and lakes around Cleveland in 1960 when I was in high school and the
water was badly polluted. While pursuing their adventures, my teen characters
also become interested in why there were no African-American people living in
their town. Cleveland is one of the five most racially segregated cities in the
country. White people live on the West Side and Black people live on the East
Side. So they started investigating, like Nancy Drew.
They ask adults embarrassing questions (which I did when I was
writing editorials for my high school newspaper) and then decide to try to
integrate their town. They invite a couple from the East Side to come to their
church and have dinner with them, and then the West side neighbors do the same by inviting the East Side to
visit. So the book is thematically similar to Huckleberry Finn, with all
the canoe trips and efforts to end segregation.
My most recent novel, Masjid
Morning is my reaction to the destruction of mosques and the
increasing Islamophobia in our country. The theme of the novel would
be religious tolerance and the suffering
intolerance can cause. I was also curious about
the differences between Islam and Christianity, and I started studying both
religions. I decided to model the novel on Romeo and Juliet, in which two young
people, Atif, an Islamic college student, falls in love with Amy, a young
Christian woman.
The couple gets together when Amy asks Atif if he can teach her
about Islam. Atif’s father is a Muslim surgeon whose group is building a
mosque, and Amy’s is a wealthy dairy farmer, and hero of the Battle of Mogadishu, who hates Muslims and is trying to stop the construction. Another 'character' is the masjid (mosque) itself, which, in the words of one reviewer, “rises from
the ground like a living being.” Kirkus Reviews calls it, "A thought-provoking and ultimately moving story that looks
at love, human nature, and conservative religion."
In
each book, I have tried to make a difference in the world, supporting peace,
racial justice, environmental justice, and religious liberty. But in all cases
I have tried to engage and entertain my readers.
All the covers of my books are by artist Audrey Engdahl, a
graduate of Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She is also a
songwriter, musician and performer who leads children's song circles at a
private school and museum. Audrey lives with her husband and children in
Hyattsville, Maryland.
This is Week 9 of 52 Artists in 52 Weeks.
Thank you for reading and sharing Richard’s story today. To connect with him
and read more about his books, please visit the following links:
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