Simon I Perlsweig

I am a historical writer and researcher who published my first book, Front Porches to Front Lines, a historical memoir of World War One and the 1918 Influenza Epidemic. Given the topic of my book and the year it was published, I chose to have the book released on November 11, 2018 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice and the end of the Great War.

I’ve always enjoyed writing and after completing an associate’s degree followed by an unsuccessful attempt at being an architectural draftsman, I re-enrolled at the University of Connecticut, with the intention of finishing my bachelor’s in American Studies. With the desire to do something other than traditional coursework and upon finding a family letter which talked about Armistice Day in 1918, I chose to take on an independent study project. The result of this project was a comprehensive academic essay which would be expanded on a couple semesters later and turned into a book a couple years after that.

The greatest things about being a writer are the incessant learning and discovery which comes with all the research one needs to do when writing a book. There is also a tremendous sense of satisfaction which one has upon seeing their book get closer to closer to being a finished product. Being a writer is also something which keeps one of their toes at all times from the very first bit of research to going through the final set of changes and corrections with one’s editor and publisher. Having a team of interested and supportive individuals around you makes the process that much more enjoyable. I also find it good to write in more than one genre, in my case history and poetry because that second genre very often serves as an antidote when one has a case of writer’s block with their main genre.