Newsletter 10/19

October 2019

Summer is over, but spring is here if you live south of the equator. For the rest of us, it’s autumn, and there are a lot of great fall and holiday books coming out this season, so to help you choose what books to buy, let me make some suggestions:

First, The Deserter, by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille, which will be published October 22. I’ll give you the rest of my suggested fall reading list in the next Newsletter – or the one after.

To read some chapters of The Deserter, free of charge, click here. If you like the chapters, pre-order one for everyone on your holiday shopping list. If you want Alex and me to inscribe and sign The Deserter, come to one of our book signings. Here is a preliminary schedule of our appearances. If there isn’t a signing in your area, take advantage of our Do-It-Yourself autograph policy.

To learn more about Alex DeMille, please visit his website www.alexdemille.com and find his social media links to follow him.

And don’t forget that all my previous books are available in paperback, and they make great stocking stuffers, especially the ebooks and audio downloads which don’t take up any space in the stocking or under the tree.

This ends the commercial messages.

I just went to a gathering of my high school class, Elmont Memorial H.S., Class of 1962. It was wonderful to see old friends and classmates and catch up on life. Elmont was a tough neighborhood, and many of my classmates compared notes on their parole officers, their time doing time, and other life-changing events. When the check came, the room emptied quickly and the class disappeared into waiting cars. Just kidding, of course. It was a beautiful occasion, and if you have a chance to go to a class reunion, do it.

The Union League Club in New York City hosted a Vietnam Veterans night to honor those who served. It was a black tie affair and the Club asked us to wear our service medals, which we did with pride. The guest of honor was Jack Jacobs, a friend of mine and fellow author who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for extraordinary bravery under fire. The guest speaker was General Petraeus who gave a very moving talk and thanked us for our service. A surprise guest speaker was Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State who negotiated the Paris Peace Talks that got us out of the war, but didn’t actually lead to peace.

So those were my two trips down Memory Lane in September, and these occasions always make you reflect on your life.

I went to both of these gatherings with my childhood friend, Dan Barbiero, who served in the Marines and was in Vietnam at the same time I was. We both made it home in one piece, right before Christmas, 1968, and we’ve been celebrating life ever since. Which reminds me of a cartoon I saw recently that depicted a tombstone with the words: ALL THAT KALE FOR NOTHING.

My sentiments exactly. Skip the kale. Have a drink. And have a great October.

Sincerely,