A Promise Lost (Paperback or Softback)

After being raised by Okie immigrants on farms in the San Joaquin Valley, the Air Force seemed the place to be. During that hitch, my wife and I met on a blind date one evening in London, England. That was more than 45 years ago. She still keeps me around and her accent remains more British than American. After leaving the Air Force, my bride and I settled on the California coast where the missile launch business took up the next three decades or so while we raised a family. Finally, in 1994, it was time to retire from aerospace and pursue other lifelong dreams. One of those dreams, as with all writers, was seeing my own novels published. Though I've written several novels over the years, this is the first real attempt to pursue the publishing process. It's been rewarding, not to mention a hell of a lot of work.

These days, besides writing and Jean's artistic pursuits, we enjoy the family of two grown kids and grandchildren, one already in college, studying to be a teacher, another soon to be college age, and a younger grandson with athletic inclinations. Family has always been the center of our lives, along with baseball and some loyal animals over the years. Years that now, with grey hair and twilight upon us, seem to have gone so quickly.

Like most authors growing older, I would only hope to leave this planet better than it was found. Though the dawning of the 21st Century might suggest those hopes are fading away, this author clings to the notion, handed down by our British and American ancestors, that love and family will eventually take center stage. Here's hoping all wars, someday, will become as obsolete as black and white television sets.

Like my hero of this novel, the baton of family and peace handed to him, such are my own dreams for the next generations. Steve, Julie, Alex, Victoria and Blake, and too many other names to mention, never give up your dreams and always work toward a peaceful existence.

-Bill