Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Spunky Senior Surfer, Larry K. Collins, Teams Up With Wife, Lorna to Write


Meet the Spunky Surfing Senior

Larry K. Collins
Larry K. Collins, multi-published author, began his love affair with surfing at about fourteen years of age. His passion has never faded. In fact, when he and his wife, Lorna, lived in Japan between 1998 and 2001, he took his board with him. In their book, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, he tells about how difficult it was to get to the beach, only to find very little surf.

Lorna and Larry K. Collins

Twenty-five years ago, he and his wife and co-author, Lorna, moved to Dana Point, California, so that he could be near the beach. Previously, they’d lived inland and had to drive about an hour and a half to reach the waves. Now, it takes five-minutes.

Larry retired in 2011 at age sixty-seven, and he’s never looked back. Each morning he and his seventy-five-year-old best friend, Robert Schwenck, hit the ‘dawn patrol.’ They ride for an hour or so, and then go back to Bob’s house for breakfast.

Larry K. Collins
Sometimes Bob’s son and grandkids join them. Here’s a link to a YouTube video Larry took on September 13, 2012 showing Bob, Larry, and Bob’s son, Eric: http://tinyurl.com/9qq9xhu And here are some still photos taken on September 19, 2012: http://tinyurl.com/9cn2lf3

Lorna has spent so much time around surfing (Many of their dates were beach trips.) that she wrote one into her latest novel, Ghost Writer. He’s the guy who lives next door to Nan Burton, the young lady who inherits a cottage on the sand. It comes complete with its own ghost! Of course, the surfer is Nan’s ideal for a hero. (Lorna’s, too!)

When Larry wrote his short story collection, Lakeview Park, he had to include a surfer. The story of George is based on a few incidents from his own experience. (The floating bikini top really happened, but it wasn’t Lorna’s and he never went out with the owner.) This is Larry’s favorite of the fifteen stories in the collection.

Most of their vacations still require the proximity of an ocean and waves. Through the years, they have visited Hawaii numerous times and have never grown tired of this tropical Paradise. In fact, they set their mysteries, Murder… They Wrote and Murder in Paradise in Hawaii. After all, it’s always necessary to visit to do research. They just returned from their latest trip, ready to continue the third book in the series.

A Sampling of Their Books:

31 MONTHS IN JAPAN: THE BUILDING OF A THEME PARK


31 Months in Japan—the Building of a Theme Park is the story of two Southern Californians who embark on the adventure of a lifetime—moving to Japan to participate in the construction of the Universal Studios Japan theme park. While there, they encountered the wonders and frustrations of the culture as well as the challenges of conducting business following foreign formal rituals. Japanese customs seemed awkward at first, but eventually they established effective working relationships and personal ones as well.




MURDER… THEY WROTE

What if a retired NYPD officer is asked to investigate a mysterious death at an authors’ conference where attendees offer their theories and suspicions? Agapé Jones, retired NYPD detective, tries to determine the truth surrounding the death of a noted poet and critic. Confusing and confounding him are the victim’s romance novelist ex-girlfriend, current young girlfriend, ex-wife, recently discovered illegitimate daughter, agent, an action/adventure author, famous psychic, long-time friend, and the mysterious countess. Peopled by a cast of quirky and deliciously amusing characters, Murder…They Wrote is filled with accusations, theories, twists, turns and surprises.



MURDER IN PARADISE


On an early morning paddle, an outrigger team finds a body in the water off Maui. Agapé Jones, retired NYPD detective, is asked to act as special investigator in the murder of a famous surfer, the son of a Hawaii state senator. The assignment takes Agapé to the North Shore of Oahu where he discovers that he’s investigating more than just a murder. Murder in Paradise allows readers to solve the case along with the detective while experiencing a virtual trip to the real Paradise that is Hawaii.




LAKEVIEW PARK



Many people enjoy Lakeview Park, and each one has a unique story. Between the pages, you’ll meet fifteen of them. Lakeview Park is a collection of O. Henry-like slice-of-life stories about the people who frequent a fictitious park. These tales reveal folks of all ages, from small children to the elderly.








Check out Lorna's blog athttp://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com/
To Read More and/or Click to Buy Any of The Above Books and Others by Larry and Lorna, 
Go To: http://www.lornalarry.com

Please welcome Larry K. Collins to Spunky Senior Authors and Talents by leaving a comment.


10 comments:

  1. Hope you enjoyed reading about my favorite spunky senior. Think I'll keep him!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Larry tried to get my hubby to come surf with him--since Hap doesn't like to swim, didn't happen. I love the ocean too, but not as much as I did when I was younger. Good post--and Larry's my favorite spunky surfers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd have liked to have seen Hap in the water with Larry! Maybe if he sees Bob out there... No? didn't think so!

      Delete
  3. Great Spunky Senior! I've always wanted to learn to surf but in Michigan, there are not a lot of opportunities. Surfing sounds as addicting as writing!
    Wendy
    W.S. Gager on Writing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Surfing is Larry's addiction, not mine! Much too dangerous for my blood. I'm content to take pictures. Now that he has his own GoPro camera, he can take his own. Hope you watched the videos.

      Delete
  4. Being a non-swimmer, I have to admire Larry's courage!
    Also, it's wonderful the two of you have writing in common. I just hope you don't get into any fights over what to include and not include in your books.(g)

    Morgan Mandel
    http://www.morganmandel.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do swim, but I don't like doing it in the ocean. After over 47 years together, we never fight. And if we do disagree, we've figured our how to settle the issue. If we have different ideas about how a scene should be written, we discuss the options and then usually come up with a different one we can both agree on.

      Delete
  5. Great blog and great SALE. Oak Tree Press has put books (Kindle edition available at Amazon) on sale for $0.99 each.

    Time now to buy ebooks by spunky seniors- like Coming Flu by JL Greger, and the Collins' books, and M. Meredith's books. The sale is only from Dec 27-31. So Hurry.
    JL Greger

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. My OTP book, "Ghost Writer," is included in the 99 cent Kindle special.

      Delete
  6. The spunky surfers went out this morning, looked at the surf, decided it was too crowded and cold, and came back home...

    ReplyDelete

Click and Share Your Thoughts. One blogspot or website link only.