Lee Hutch's Blog, page 11

I’m Going On Tour! (Sort Of)

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Dear Readers,

I am pleased to announce that I’ll be doing a virtual book tour to coincide with the release of the audiobook version ofSo Others May Live. Along the way, I’ll make virtual stops at a several websites where you can find author interviews, soundbites, character profiles, and character interviews. It should be fun! The tour will run from Feb. 20 – 26. Book markthis page and you can join in the fun when the tour commences. If you’ve got friends that like WW2 and/or historical...

How I Learned to Love the Cold War!

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Dear Readers,

I am a child of the Cold War. Born in the late 70s, my early years coincided with deteriorating relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. (Able-Archer 83, anyone?) I remember being told in elementary school about how the Russians wanted to invade the United States, kill our parents, and force us to be communists. What a thing to tell little kids! I was not one to buy into the propaganda, because even as a kid I realized that the odds were pretty high that the...

More Than a Summer Fling

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History Crush: when one, usually a student of history, develops a crush on a figure from the past, usually dead, based on photos of the person or on reading about them.

Dear Readers,

I have stated before that I have a history crush on Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna Romanova. I think I’ve even hinted at when it started, but I don’t think I’ve ever told the full story about how she came to be my history and also my guardian angel. It’s not an overly long story, though I assume that by telling...

Audiobook Release!

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Mi Vida Loca: My 2019 Year in Review

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Well, Dear Readers, it’s time for my third annual Year in Review blog post. (If you are new, you can check out 2017here and 2018 here). Time has sailed by since I wrote the last one on New Year’s Eve, 2018. Yet here we are. I called the 2018 post “The Wildest Ride Yet” given my long hospital stays and surgeries in the winter/spring of the year. Buckle up though, because 2019 was just as crazy. We’ll tackle it in chronological order, as that way makes the most sense to me.

In my 2018 post, I...

A Different Path

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Dear Readers,

I have, on occasion, been asked if I had not entered the fire service as a young man, what I would have done for a career. Admittedly, during my years on the job, I saw my share of challenging situations and had my own close calls, I never faced the ultimate challenge. The reason why my research focuses on firefighters in war zones is precisely because I never worked in one myself. A fact, I hasten to add, that I do not regret as I am lucky to have grown up in a place where...

Christmas Break

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Dear Readers,

The nice think about teaching college is the generous amounts of time off. My fall semester ended with little fanfare on Dec. 12th. I do not have to report back until January 14th, with students to follow on the 21st. I’m teaching a professional development session to faculty on the 14th, so I do have to spend some time working on that, but the rest of the month is mine to use or waste as I see fit. Obviously, I have my Sharpe’s marathon to keep me occupied for a bit. But I’m...

Over the Hills and Far Away

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Chosen Men! To Me!,

Every winter break, I travel over the hills and far away. Well, not literally. It has been a long running tradition going back to when I left the fire service and began to teach for my day job as opposed to my side gig that whenever Christmas Break arrives, I have a Sharpe’s Rifles marathon. I watch all of the movies, up through Sharpe’s Peril, the final in the series. Yes, I’ve seen them a billion times and I’ve read most of the books too, but they never get old, even as...

Molly’s Song is Finished!

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Dear Readers,

Eight months ago, I came across a photo of an unnamed prostitute taken in the 19th Century. Enchanted by this photo, I found myself falling for the young woman. As I wondered about her life, where she came from, and what her hopes and fears were, I got the idea for a novel. So I am happy to report the following.

I have previously blogged quite a bit about my work on my second novel,Molly’s Song. I am happy to report that at 5:22 pm (CST) on Saturday, November 30, 2019, I typed...

What’s In A Dream

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Dear Readers,

At the risk of making myself sound crazy (okay, crazier…), I am going to share a story with you. It is something that I have not often spoke about and, in fact, today I shared it with a couple of classes for the very first time. Seeing as how I wasn’t laughed out of the room, I guess it went okay. You see, Dear Readers, it involves something that there really isn’t any logical explanation for, or at least one that makes sense. I don’t know how to explain it, other than to say...