In Act IV of “Birding”, I spent a good deal of time describing Pedro’s bus trips with Chinese tourists to Yellowstone and many other national parks of the West in the summer of 2001. I’ve always wondered whether readers would assume this was one of the fictionalized elements of the novel, with a workload thatContinue reading “Birding — From China with Love: The Landmark Tours”
Tag Archives: Pedro
Birding — Pedro and Nadia
As many of you know or might guess after reading it, both narrators, Joseph and Pedro, are based on “JP’, my actual civilian name. But Pedro is the main vehicle for the semi-autobiographical aspect of the novel. Likewise, the character of Nadia Czonka is a depiction of my first wife, Aubray Tomkinson. We were “exuberantlyContinue reading “Birding — Pedro and Nadia”
Excerpt from “Birding in the Face of Terror” — Act V
In this scene, Pedro is alone, heading out for his third tour of duty on an account that his company has been serving through the summer of 2001. It involves driving Chinese tourists from the Bay Area on grueling week-long excursions to various national parks in the Western states. (JP once racked up over 220Continue reading “Excerpt from “Birding in the Face of Terror” — Act V”
Excerpt from “Birding in the Face of Terror” — Act IV
Pedro spent much of Act III ruminating on the very limited knowledge he had of the national crisis on the East Coast, and his incredulousness over the group leaders’ decision to keep the information from the fellow passengers. Only they, Pedro, and Betty Pickett know at this point. (She found out accidentally in Act IIIContinue reading “Excerpt from “Birding in the Face of Terror” — Act IV”
Excerpt from “Birding in the Face of Terror” — Act III
At this point in Act III, everything that will crash and collapse in New York City on 9/11/01 has already happened. Pedro and his birding crew have left the Central Valley location and are headed toward Azucar Mountain, the highest peak in the mountainous coastal region northwest of Los Angeles (actual location was Mount Pinos).Continue reading “Excerpt from “Birding in the Face of Terror” — Act III”
Birding in the Face of Terror
Fiction. Paperback, 398 pgs, apx 121,000 words. $20 via ND Media Bookstore; $18.95 via Barnes and Noble; Price varies via Amazon. E-book (downloadable PDF, Kindle, or Nook format) available for $2.99 via Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Book Locker. Release date: 19 June 2020 How would our lives be different if we could weather the storms of tragedy and loss withoutContinue reading “Birding in the Face of Terror”
Not One, Not Two 