Asking university students questions about World War II
With Tom Stevens, grandson of Babe Ruth, at book signing in Cooperstown, NY
Appearing on TVOntario’s The Agenda With Steve Paikin
At Stephen Leacock’s desk, Leacock Museum in Orillia, Ontario
I said ‘something in writing’ in my high school yearbook when asked what I wanted to do. For sure it’s been a long and meandering route, but here we are.
My passion has always been history and remains so, and this is reflected in much of my work and that’s true of both fiction and non-fiction. Cutting my eye-teeth as a newspaper reporter, columnist and correspondent, and then as a freelancer for magazines, provided a good foundation. Then came a number of years teaching college students which was a real eye-opener.
Along the way I’ve belonged to such organizations as the Historical Novel Society, Historical Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, James Michener Society, and Society of American Baseball Research. Of course, we can’t forget the Royal Ontario Museum. Alas, I have a fascination for things that are very old – prehistoric even – which explains the preoccupation with archaeology.
I once did a magazine piece in which I tried to trace my family roots. This was before the digital age. But I didn’t know anyone outside my immediate family with the surname of Amernic. And so, there I was scrutinizing the white pages of telephone books, and if you don’t know what that is talk to a person who’s over 50. Upon going through the Manhattan directory, I came across Amernick’s Meat Market.
Eureka!
I called them up, said we’re related, and was told “I … uh … don’t think so.” It turns out they were two Italian families who had merged their last names. But since then I have discovered scores of Amernicks (with the ‘k’ at the end) and yes there is a DNA connection which tells me we’re all part of the same tree of life. It just depends how far back you want to go.
Sometimes I like to give that tree a bit of a shake, and it often results in books.