Silents!
by H.P. Oliver
Price: $4.99 USD. 115200 words.
Published on September 9, 2011. Fiction.
Set in Hollywood during the glory days of the silent film era, Silents! is a mystery from history capturing all the action and drama that made Tinsel Town the motion picture capital of the world!
Location: United States
Member Since: Dec. 02, 2010
H.P. Oliver
Biography
When you get right down to it, life is all about irony. You know, the stuff that happens when fate steps in and gives us a good swift kick in the butt to remind us what little control over our destinies we really have. Irony is the spice of life; the ingredient that makes life interesting, or frustrating, or an adventure.
Since I write about life, albeit in an earlier time, irony is the element I rely on to make characters lifelike and events believable. The (paraphrased) words of Scottish poet Robert Burns are my guiding light: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” Do they ever!
Another vital element of my novels is visualization—descriptions of settings that make readers feel as if they’ve actually stepped into the scene. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a vivid mental picture is more than worth every word written to create it. If my words stimulate your mind’s eye, I’m a happy writer because I’ve done my job well.
I believe blending life’s ironies and vivid visualizations with actual events of the past is the recipe for bringing historical novels to life. Putting you in shoes of a fictional character who becomes part of real history is my goal every time I sit at the keyboard to write. The eras in which I choose to pursue this goal are the decades between WWI and WWII because the technologies of those periods were modern enough to be understood by today’s readers, and yet we were still naive enough to believe that virtue and ethics had a place in our society.
As for my relevant particulars, I hold a journalism degree from San Jose State University, and I’ve earned my daily bread writing media all of my adult life. What am I doing here? Simply taking advantage of a wonderful new medium for yarns of mystery well calculated to keep you in suspense. Other pertinent details: I live in northern California and spend way too much money restoring classic cars.
Since I write about life, albeit in an earlier time, irony is the element I rely on to make characters lifelike and events believable. The (paraphrased) words of Scottish poet Robert Burns are my guiding light: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” Do they ever!
Another vital element of my novels is visualization—descriptions of settings that make readers feel as if they’ve actually stepped into the scene. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a vivid mental picture is more than worth every word written to create it. If my words stimulate your mind’s eye, I’m a happy writer because I’ve done my job well.
I believe blending life’s ironies and vivid visualizations with actual events of the past is the recipe for bringing historical novels to life. Putting you in shoes of a fictional character who becomes part of real history is my goal every time I sit at the keyboard to write. The eras in which I choose to pursue this goal are the decades between WWI and WWII because the technologies of those periods were modern enough to be understood by today’s readers, and yet we were still naive enough to believe that virtue and ethics had a place in our society.
As for my relevant particulars, I hold a journalism degree from San Jose State University, and I’ve earned my daily bread writing media all of my adult life. What am I doing here? Simply taking advantage of a wonderful new medium for yarns of mystery well calculated to keep you in suspense. Other pertinent details: I live in northern California and spend way too much money restoring classic cars.
Where to find H.P. Oliver online
Books
Puzzles From the Past
by H.P. Oliver
Price: $1.99 USD. 39460 words. Published on February 26, 2011. Fiction.
Puzzles From The Past is an anthology consisting of three action-packed mysteries heavily steeped in WWII intrigue and espionage. Crafted in ways that challenge readers to solve the mysteries right along with the stories’ characters, Puzzles evokes a sense that you are actually part of history itself.
Price: $1.99 USD. 39460 words. Published on February 26, 2011. Fiction.
Puzzles From The Past is an anthology consisting of three action-packed mysteries heavily steeped in WWII intrigue and espionage. Crafted in ways that challenge readers to solve the mysteries right along with the stories’ characters, Puzzles evokes a sense that you are actually part of history itself.
The Truth Be Told
by H.P. Oliver
Price: $4.95 USD. 64530 words. Published on December 6, 2010. Fiction.
THE TRUTH BE TOLD takes us back to 1932 for an alternative version of a real-life tragedy. History says a talented young actress named Peg Entwhistle committed suicide that year by jumping from the famous Hollywood sign, but what if history got it wrong? And after all these years, does it really matter? It does to Peg. This is her story and how she finally told it eight decades after her death.
Price: $4.95 USD. 64530 words. Published on December 6, 2010. Fiction.
THE TRUTH BE TOLD takes us back to 1932 for an alternative version of a real-life tragedy. History says a talented young actress named Peg Entwhistle committed suicide that year by jumping from the famous Hollywood sign, but what if history got it wrong? And after all these years, does it really matter? It does to Peg. This is her story and how she finally told it eight decades after her death.