In Memory of Edward F. Dolan

Edward Francis Dolan, Jr.
February 10, 1924 - August 12, 2010

Over the years I have met many writers. Some work on their craft for years before achieving any publishing success. Some are published, but continue to work "day jobs" and dream of one day being able to work full time as a writer.

And then there was Ed Dolan.

He lived an extraordinary life. His first paid publication was an article when he was only sixteen years old. After serving as an infantryman in World War II, he returned home to California with a bride from England.

Edward and Rose Dolan

Ed wrote articles, short stories, and was an editor of a magazine for awhile. He wrote and performed approximately 800 television programs in San Francisco. His character named "Buckskin Dan" was popular in the 1950s.



Ed was chairman of the Speech Department at Monticello College in Illinois for awhile, and later taught English at Golden Gate University and at a private high school. He also was an award winning reporter for the Novato Advance newspaper.

In 1958, his first book was published, but not before tragedy had struck. A fire had destroyed the manuscript he had worked on for two years. He had to re-write the entire book from scratch.

Ed found his true calling in writing Hi-Lo juvenile books. High interest, low vocabulary books for reluctant readers. It soon occupied all his time and he had to give up teaching.

In the span of about fifty years, Ed Dolan had 120 books published.

One hundred and twenty books.

Five of them were published this last September. It was a series about careers in the military. Each branch had their own volume.

Ed was known as a 9-to-5 workman. If you wanted it, he would write it. He wrote nonfiction that encompassed a wide range of topics: sports biographies; biographies on historical figures; historical events; books on controversial topics such as capital punishment, child abuse, animal rights, drugs in sports, privacy rights, pollution, etc.

He wrote mostly for children, but he also wrote a book for adults titled: Legal Action: A layman's guide. He did his research by attending open court sessions and interviewing lawyers. This was around the same time that Nolo Press started providing legal guides for the general public.

Ed had been a member of Redwood Writers for nearly thirty-five years. He had served as our president twice and was a friend and mentor to many. He had been in great demand as a speaker at writers club meetings and conferences. He was asked back again and again, because he was knowledgeable, personable and a great entertainer.

He also kept meticulous records. He has notes, contracts and original manuscripts of all of his books. In one of his scrapbooks was this story:

The Kite and the Butterfly

a kite flew far up into the clouds.
it played with the wind.
it looked at the sun.

the kite saw a butterfly far below.
look at me, said the kite, see how high I am.
I can see far far away.
maybe I can fly to the sun.
don't you wish you were a kite,
then you could fly to the sun.

oh no, said the butterfly
I do not fly very high
but I go where I please.
you fly very high
but you are tied to a string.

Edward F. Dolan
1931, age 7

I am amazed at talent like that at such a tender age. It is easy for me to see why he spent his life as a writer. He simply had no choice.

Later in life Ed even wrote a book on kite flying.




He was also quoted in a news article about his career as a writer having said, "the desire to fly free is natural." The theme of the kite and the butterfly lasted throughout his life.


Ed Dolan passed away on August 12, 2010 at the age of 86. He had a hearty laugh and a warm presence. I am a richer person for having known him and for having him as a friend.

Linda

http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2010/08/in-memory-of-edward-f-dolan.html

Review Shadow of the Swords by Kamran Pasha

I find the power of the internet to be amazing. Last year due to a guest post on a friend's blog, I learned of the debut novel Mother of the Believers by Kamran Pasha. I enjoyed reading it, and posted my review on this blog.

A few weeks later, a publicist at Simon and Schuster emailed me and wanted to know if I would be interested in a review copy for another debut novelist. I gave her my mailing address and over the last year I have periodically received novels from different Simon and Schuster publicists, mostly in the historical fiction genre.

Some I have read and blogged about, others I have not.

The most recent book I received was a follow up novel by Kamran Pasha titled Shadow of the Swords. I remembered from his author notes in Mother of the Believers that he was working on a novel about the Crusades. I would have bought this book on my own, but was delighted when I received a free copy prior to its official publication date.

On the publicity materials was a mention that he was available for interviews. After I finished reading the book, I contacted the publicist to see how I could interview him. I expected that I would be emailing him questions, but I was surprised to learn I could speak with him by phone.

After a few attempts at finding a mutually convenient time, Kamran and I spoke by Skype on the morning his book was released to the public. I owe having that opportunity to the power of the internet.

“(T)he rabbi knew that the marauders had ceased to think in terms of God or religion. They were like men possessed, driven by their own fears of death to kill…It was not about right or wrong, or the well-considered arguments of religious scholars. Terror was its own kind of madness and no reason, no faith, could shine a light into that darkest region of the human soul.” – Kamran Pasha, Shadow of the Swords, p. 239.

That madness is religious zealotry. It does not matter the faith of the zealot, because it is the fear and the fervor that overpowers the mind and allows atrocities to occur in the name of God. One of the most notorious examples of this kind of faith-based zealotry was during the Crusades.

However, the mere mention of that period of history can evoke emotional responses by people today:

Antagonism and defensiveness.

The choosing of sides.

The listing of atrocities perpetrated by Our Enemies that justified the actions by Our Heroes.

This entrenched mindset perpetuates itself in every new generation even though the Crusades began nearly a thousand years ago and those involved in the military campaigns have long ago been reduced to skeletons. The cultural wounds inflicted by these multiple wars between Christians and Muslims continue to cast long shadows over today's international politics.

Kamran Pasha’s new novel, Shadow of the Swords, was inspired in reaction to the horrific events of September 11, 2001. As an American Muslim, he not only felt devastated by the human tragedy, but he felt an additional burden of knowing that the culprits of those crimes claimed to be acting on behalf of his faith.

He knew the terrorists' beliefs were a perversion of Islam and recognized the attacks would fan the smoldering flames of conflict between Christians and Muslims.

As a lifelong student of history and religion, Pasha wanted to write a story examining the roots of the animosity between Christianity and Islam. He chose the time period of the Third Crusade led by the iconic figures of King Richard the Lionheart on the Christian side and Sultan Saladin on the Muslim side.

Pasha breaks the age-old Good vs. Evil dichotomy by utilizing multiple viewpoints demonstrating that everyone sees themselves as hero in their own life story. Even if they commit atrocities, they will justify their acts under the guise of heroism.

The historical figure of Saladin is revered by Muslims and respected by Christians for his uncommon acts of chivalry, some of which are depicted in this novel. Two examples: sending his own physician to treat King Richard, who was dying from an illness; offering his own horse as a replacement when King Richard’s horse was killed on the battlefield.

Whereas, while King Richard the Lionheart has a legendary mystique about him, enhanced by tales of Robin Hood when he was away on Crusade, the historic figure is less sympathetic. To counterbalance this, Pasha created the character of Sir William Chinon to depict the chivalric ideal to carry the standard for the Christians.

Pasha was not content with just showing the epic scope of the battles led by Saladin and King Richard the Lionheart, he also examines the perspective of Jews in the Levant at the time and their relationship with Muslims and Christians. The historical figure of Maimonides, a rabbi and physician to Saladin, is featured prominently as well as the character of Miriam, an educated and high-spirited Jewish woman. Miriam serves the dramatic function of interacting with both Saladin and King Richard and allows the readers to see them as human beings and not icons of legend.

It is the intersection of the three great faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam that gives the novel its strength and heart. To understand where we are going, it is important to know where we came from. There is a lot of commonality in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religious traditions, hopefully Shadow of the Swords will help readers focus on those unifying areas more than the differences which divides us.

Edited to add: I had intended on writing a summary of the discussion I had with Kamran. My digital recorder started giving me fits. Modern technology can be a wonderful thing, until it has develops a mind of its own.

I discovered a website that has an online podcast interview of Kamran Pasha discussing Shadow of the Swords. Check it out on writerscast.com .

http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2010/06/review-shadow-of-swords-by-kamran-pasha.html