Carrere bought a new car

It was Friday, January 13, 1911, John Carrere bought a new Packard. His partner's wife, Helen Hastings called it the Hoodoo because it was on Friday the 13th that Carrere took delivery.

A couple of days later, on January 15, the New York Public Library's Board decided that the library would be dedicated on May 23, the anniversary of the date the Lenox and Astor Libraries, and the Tilden trust merged to form the New York Public Library.

One hundred years ago, a date had been set!

The New York Public Library looks great

My son and I visited the NYPL on Saturday. He is keenly interested in architecture, and it was a pleasure to show his the craftsmanship in the Classical details in the building. And I was reminded at how difficult it was to limit The Library Book to a few, notable, features in the library. The book could not discuss every last, little detail without becoming repetitive.

The photo is of the "north" lion. The two lions are a major, and prominent feature of the NYPL. They were modeled by Ed Potter, and carved by Attilio Piccarilli from solid blocks of Tennessee marble.

Trip to NYC this weekend

My son and I will be visiting New York this weekend. One objective is to take pictures of the NYPL in order to explain some of the architectural details in The Library Book. I have not visited the library since I finished the book five years ago. I felt as thought I knew the building pretty well, back then, even though I visited it only three or four times when writing the book. I wonder if I still "know"the place?

I also want to view John Carrere's grave in the Moravian Cemetery on Staten Island. Alas, that will not be possible because the grave marker lies flat on the ground, and the ground is covered with snow!

Albertson '96

These pictures are from our first dive trip to the quarry in West Rutland, Vermont that we later learned was known as Albertson. Date: 0ct. 6, 1996. I am wearing the white t-shirt. Gil is relaxing in the water. Not shown is Tom Easop, who is featured in the Fugue, in The Library Book.

We had been told about the quarry by the veteran dive instructor in Massachusetts who taught us Nitrox. He spoke of underwater tunnels, and we decided to go dive the quarry. We had no idea what to expect, and little did I know that I would write a novel.

Self publishing

I published The Library Book, the first time, in 2006. I didn't try to find an agent because I knew the competition was fierce, and I was an unknown writer. Five years ago self-publishing was growing in acceptance. Now, as I publish the Centennial Edition of The Library Book, self-publishing as common and accepted. Social media have brought marketing into the hands of the authors. Self publishing is an authentic method for valuable contributions to be added to the literary canon.

How it started

The Library Book was the result of an unexpected experience: scuba diving in an abandoned marble quarry in western Vermont. The dives into that frigid water impelled me to write a novel! My work was fueled by those first dives, my love of research, and my the excitemewnt of writing about something completely original.