Xlibris Publishing introduces James E. Merl, author of Chicago 1871.
About Your Book and Yourself:
Who is the author “behind” the book?
My name is James E. Merl, I am currently a truck driver and live in Northeast Washington State with my wife and two daughters. We moved here from California 18 years ago after I suffered an injury that ended my career as a firefighter. I had worked as a firefighter for 16 years. As a truck driver, I drive across country which affords me the time to think about my writing.
As far as a literary background, I have always been a movie person. However, since grade school I have thought about writing a book. After several tries, I quickly found out it was much harder than I imagined and gave up after a chapter or two, although I have written a few short stories for my daughter’s school projects, what can I say, they didn’t like writing, and I have an over-active mind.
Although I had started numerous novels, not until two years ago did I read my first one from cover to cover. I’ve always found myself distracted by all the fancy words and had more problems stumbling on them rather than enjoying the story. Not until I read my first novel did I realize that you don’t have to write a story in a fashion of impressing the reader of your knowledge of words. I played around with it and brought my 6.8 reading grade level down to a 4.2 and have created a book that everyone has a problem putting down.
My book, Chicago 1871 is a story is about a present-day firefighter, John Kirk. While he and his partner are inside a house fire attempting to locate the fire is knocked unconscious and when he awakes, he is in a Chicago hospital, 2000 miles from California and soon realizes that somehow, he has traveled 147 into the past, two weeks before the Great Chicago Fire. While trying to convince the firemen of steam engine company 8 of the impending disaster, he comes to the rescue of an actress who stars in a show at a local theatre. John continues to grow and learns to love the simple life of the 19th century. He is soon faced with the dilemma that if he changes history by putting out the fire in the O’Leary barn, what impact would that have on the future. In his race against time, John finds the true meaning of love, brotherhood, and true sacrifice.
Xlibris Publishing will return with James E. Merl in Part 2.
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