<strong>The journey to writing and publishing novels was a long one for me. Prior to writing my first novel, a lengthy business career includes having worked many years for a major international bank. At different times, I was responsible for its banking operations in greater San Diego and for its Private Banking operations across the United States. Other experiences include ten years as a real estate broker in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, and, subsequently, as the director of an Indian gaming commission, also in California. The early thinking about my novel, <em>Joshua Rye</em>, came during the time in Carmel, during which I volunteered at a hospice on the Monterey Peninsula.</strong>

<strong>In my business life, I always admired the written word, having seen how a simple change in syntax or word usage can compel action, win an argument, sell the unsellable. However, I did not put my first word to paper for <em>Serpent at the Well</em> until I was in my mid forties. My original goal with that novel was to see if I might have the right stuff to actually write a complex, character and plot driven book of fiction. I must tell you that I probably took on more than I could chew for that first effort. In the end, I rewrote the entire six-hundred page novel a multitude of times (I stopped counting at five), before I felt it a competent effort.</strong>

<strong>As a late entrant into the field of novel writing, it occurred to me that I am not the only one who has stories to tell for which life got in the way. This is why I now write the blog series, "Writing from Behind the Curve." The series argues that it is never too late to begin writing that story that has been bouncing around in that noggin of yours for the past 10, 20, or even 40 years. I hope that you will take time to peruse the first blog or two to get a more detailed idea of what this is all about. And, perhaps, you will choose to join with its other participants in exploring this new encouragement to write.</strong>

<strong>My third novel, <em>MOLTO GRANDE</em>, was a challenge due to the immensity of the story itself. At 260,000 words (eight hundred plus paperback pages), it is a weighty offering. It is period fiction, seventeenth century Europe, and it tells the times and hardships faced by two Italian brothers destined for remarkably different futures, one as a castrati, the first true international celebrities, and the other as a member of a Roma (Gypsy) band, during a dangerous time of persecution.         </strong>

<strong>All the best,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Dick Franklin                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Blog Link: http://dickfranklin.naiwe.org/</strong&gt;