April 23, 2009 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Discovering a New RPCV Writer

Apr 23 2009

The nice thing about this blog is that I get word of new RPCV writers. Here is a writer who has been under the radar of PeaceCorpsWriters: John Shannon (Malawi 1968-71). John has written nine “Jack Liffey” mysteries and four other novels, including Courage, the story of a disillusioned American Communist who goes to Africa to help foment a revolution. This novel came out of his Peace Corps experience and left him a “prohibited immigrant” in Malawi for over a decade. His 11 California mysteries are about Jack Liffey “a decent guy, as compassionate as he is brave. His city is greater LA, his turf the forgotten suburbs, run-down neighborhoods and volatile ethnic communities. “Jack Liffey understands loss. First he lost his job in the aerospace industry, then he lost his wife and daughter. All he really has left is his ability to track down missing children, and his willingness to elbow his . . .

Horror golf!

Apr 23 2009

While it is true that most golfers have, from time to time, “a horrible round of golf,” what is not clear is how a “horror writer” ends up writing golf novels! In the 1970s and ’80s I wrote a series of horror novels (The Piercing, Hobgoblin, The Shroud, The Legacy) and others, several of which made best seller lists across the country. While golf courses were never a scene for my horror novels, golf really wasn’t that far from my mind. In fact, during those years one side of my brain was writing magazine articles about golf and editing golf instructional books (Better Golf, New Golf for Women, and Playing with the Pros). Also during those years I kept nurturing the idea of writing a golf novel. Golf has been a passion of mine since I was 10 years old and first began to caddie at Midlothian Country Club in . . .

Archive - April 23, 2009