41 ratings | 19 reviews | avg rating:4.15

Vann Turner’s Followers (17)

Vann’s Bookshelves

read (39)
currently-reading (0)
to-read (76)
author (5)
history (0)
reviewed (2)

Vann’s Friends (10)

Cheryl Maxwell

1,357 books | 32 friends

Rachel

1,955 books | 154 friends

Judith Starkston

444 books | 1,379 friends

William Kelso

20 books | 13 friends

D.L. Johnstone

9 books | 13 friends

R.S. Gompertz

82 books | 551 friends

K.M. Ashman

53 books | 382 friends

Bruce MacBain

301 books | 94 friends

More friends…

Vann Turner

Goodreads Author

Born

in West Palm Beach, FL, The United States

Website

https://www.vannturner.com

Genre

History, Fiction, Poetry

Influences

I gratefully acknowledge the contributions of:
(1) My grandparents and ...more

Member Since

August 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/vann_turner

edit data

Although author Vann Turner was born in West Palm Beach, FL, he cannot call that home. He attended thirteen different schools, in thirteen different locales, before he graduated from Pensacola High School in 1966. His parents thought the best graduation present would be a suitcase. Vann took the hint and left. By tending bar and cooking he earned his BA in English (Latin minor).

He went on to teach high school one year, became an avid backpacker, did a stint in the Army, then tried homesteading in upstate Maine. Failing at that, he merged into the hordes of homeless veterans on the streets. His medic training in the Army enabled him to pull himself up to work in hospitals and he became an amateur bodybuilder. He went on to transcribe medical Although author Vann Turner was born in West Palm Beach, FL, he cannot call that home. He attended thirteen different schools, in thirteen different locales, before he graduated from Pensacola High School in 1966. His parents thought the best graduation present would be a suitcase. Vann took the hint and left. By tending bar and cooking he earned his BA in English (Latin minor).

He went on to teach high school one year, became an avid backpacker, did a stint in the Army, then tried homesteading in upstate Maine. Failing at that, he merged into the hordes of homeless veterans on the streets. His medic training in the Army enabled him to pull himself up to work in hospitals and he became an amateur bodybuilder. He went on to transcribe medical dictation for a group of neurologists (using WordPerfect 5.1). During this time he wrote three gay short stories. The first magazines he sent them to bought them. Maybe he could tell a story and had something to say besides.

He then began working on his first novel, completing it in 1992. That novel came close to acceptance by a major publisher, but in the end it was no cigar. He told himself he needed to write full time, but he needed an income so he could quit his job and write. If he had something to sell on that new fangled thing, the World Wide Web, that'd provide the income he needed.

So he learned coding. He wrote and sold medical transcription software, MedPen, on the internet. But that decision did not pan out as he had hoped. It sapped all his time and creativity and he wrote not a word of fiction until he sold the business in 2012.

The next day his long-time partner (and future husband when it became legal in 2014) asked him what he was going to do with his time. He said he was going to write. Bob nodded and asked him to dust off that 1992 novel. Vann responded that he had other stories to tell as well and he was going to write a novel set after the fall of Rome but before the solid onset of the Dark Ages, a time ripe with conflicts, Roman tradition versus Germanic custom, Christianity versus the old gods, the human heart struggling against itself and external constraints.

Vann has always been a shy person and now is something of a recluse in his mountain home with his dogs. (His husband passed in May of 2017.) He is not on Twitter, but dared to venture into the strange world of Facebook for seven months, finally deleting his account in February, 2020. He found the FB environment toxic to him. It sapped energy. Maybe it was just too many people shouting for attention all at once. But he loves interacting with people one on one. So if you'd like to send him an email, he will answer you.
https://www.vannturner.com ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Vann Turner questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Vann Turner’s books

Average rating: 4.06 · 69 ratings · 19 reviews · 7 distinct works

	To Forestall the Darkness: A Novel of Ancient Rome 3.62 avg rating — 29 ratings — published 2013 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sometimes Lovin' is Hurtful 4.48 avg rating — 23 ratings — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	To Abandon Rome, AD 593 4.38 avg rating — 8 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	To Grasp the Miraculous, AD 593 - 607: A Novella of the Dark Ages (Tribonian Trilogy 3) 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Marine, the Lady & the Hag: an Adult Fable really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Never Quite Good Enough 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Reality of Carmen: A Short Read 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Vann Turner…

9 posts
Vann Turner's Blog: The book jacket

Trilogy Complete!

To Grasp the Miraculous, AD 593 - 607 A Novella of the Dark Ages (Tribonian Trilogy 3) by Vann Turner

To Grasp the Miraculous, AD 593 - 607
A Novella of the Dark Ages
Kindle: 0.99 for the month of October, 2020

Like all my work, To Grasp the Miraculous is a literary novella. That means it is not a genre work and does not follow a familiar story-line.

To Grasp is a dramatic exultation of the wedded life, gripping and emotive. It’s a short read, but a memorable one.

After you’ve re Read more of this blog post »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 02, 2020 07:44

View all 9 posts »

Quotes by Vann Turner (?)

“King: Should I specify for the realm what religion will be acceptable in this Kingdom, as the Emperor in the East did?

Titus: If you are of such sagacity, my Lord, that you know all the secrets of the Universe, you would be remiss if you did not specify the acceptable religion. But if you, too, are mortal, and your understanding is partial, I would think it arrogant to dictate to the people how they should approach Existence. Each has his own understanding, and each his own ability to understand.”
― Vann Turner, To Forestall the Darkness: A Novel of Ancient Rome

tags: freedom-of-religion

4 likes

“He wondered how sick in heart a woman needed to be for her to forsake a delight in flowers.”
― Vann Turner, To Forestall the Darkness: A Novel of Ancient Rome

tags: depression

2 likes

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Ancient & Medieva...: * What Are You Reading Right Now? ( Hwæt béon ðu bocrædung?)	9980	2018	Jan 09, 2023 04:18AM

Vann’s Quotes

tags: freedom-of-religion

4 likes

“He wondered how sick in heart a woman needed to be for her to forsake a delight in flowers.”
― Vann Turner, To Forestall the Darkness: A Novel of Ancient Rome

tags: depression

2 likes

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

tags: art, beauty, music, wonder

2352 likes

“The underground of the city is like what's underground in people. Beneath the surface, it's boiling with monsters.”
― Guillermo Del Toro

1627 likes