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By the time I retired from a career in structural engineering my interest in several of the arts had begun to blossom. I switched from left-brain mathematics to right-brain creativity. It wasn’t long before I had written my first two books. Currently, I have five fiction books in print, one non-fiction reference book, and three books of sheet music, which I co-composed with Bill Walker.
Featured below are Compound Words: A quick reference for everyone! and Worlds Without Number.
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Compound Words
A quick reference for everyone!
The idea for Compound Words followed the editing of one of my books. The publisher, and final editor, pointed out several compound words that I got wrong.
When I had a question as to whether a compound word was two or more separate words or combined into one word, I searched through one or more of three dictionaries, until I was satisfied I had the word format correct. And there I was with several words wrong.
Each of the three dictionaries I referred to above had over 2,000 pages. I relied most heavily on the one most recently published, often comparing its listings with those of the other two as well as with the internet. Sometimes these three dictionaries disagreed with each other as to the best format for a compound word.
For example, one of my dictionaries has these two entries: milk shake and after-shave. The other two dictionaries and the internet all agreed that the best spellings were milkshake and after shave.
A writer friend of mine pointed out the first two corollaries of language:
- For every dictionary there is an equal and opposite dictionary.
- Anytime two or more dictionaries agree on anything, a new dictionary will appear and prove why all the others are wrong.
I hope my battle scars save you some pain when you confront a rebellious compound word.
Paperback: $19.95 – Kindle Version: $4.85
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Worlds Without Number
Many years ago I had this cool idea for how it might be possible to travel across the universe in the blink of an eye. One morning I woke up with the plot for a book that would utilize this idea. I attempted to write this book twice before finally giving up. Then, about two and a half years ago, I woke up early one morning with the completed book in my head. I wrote for several hours a day for the next week and a half, producing the first draft. The book was published in December of 2014.
Below is a synopsis of Worlds Without Number.
Two second-year college students are quite unhappy with their lives at home. They are roommates at a prominent university located halfway across the United States. After returning from the Christmas holidays, they need to focus on their joint sophomore-project. It must be spectacular because how well they do with it will factor into their advancement into their final three-year block of study.
The institute they are attending specializes in the development and advancement of personal transportation. One roommate explains his idea for instant, across-the-universe transport and the other roommate figures out how to do it.
Click to Purchase at Amazon
Paperback: $9.00 – Kindle Version: $2.99
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