Hi there.

My name is Robert Hendry, and over the past 30 years, I have 26 published Non-Fiction books in paper form. I recently decided I would like to branch out into the Fiction field, initially with a subject I have studied for a similar length of time, the Soviet Union.

During that time I got to know a good deal about Soviet military hardware and operational doctrine, and after the break up of the USSR, it was interesting to actually see at first hand the stuff I had studied at a distance.Seeing a Termit Surface to surface missile fired for real beats any number of photos!

The majority o COl War Era novels have a Western hero and Soviet baddies. In the 1980s, as the Brezhnev era ground to a stand, various factions view for power, and my novels have brought in a limited CIA or MI6 involvement, but the main action is between good guys and bad guys in the USSR.

The First Novel to be relesed on Smashwords is "To Kill Our WOrthy Comrade", which covers a plot to assassinate the General Secretary at his dacha in the Crimea in 1981. The real 1991 plot took place at the replacement dacha just a few kilometres along the coast.

The novel introduces the C-in-C of the Black Sea FLeet, Admiral Petrov who is drawn into the fight to defeat the plotters and a 19 year old girl communications rating, Lidiya. She is one of those girls who just seem to attract trouble, as you will discover in the Lidiya Petrova Series No 2 and No 3.

I managed to get No 2, The Admiral's Woman on line, and if you felt that Lidiya had a pretty easy time in No 1, and landed on her feet, you will fidcover that things get a bit more hectic for the lovely Lidiya in "The Admiral's Woman".

As you will have gathered I have these two very different publishing careers and I have thoroughly enjoyed both of them. As a historian, I have to rely on available sources, and imagination is not on. As a novelist, it is important to get facts right but after that the more imaginative and original the storyline the better.

All the Best
RObert H

admiral petrov    afghan war    air battle    andropov    anglosaxons    annapolis    black sea    black sea fleet    boris ponomarev    brezhnev    btr60    chemical warfare    cia    cia novel    cold war    cold war novel    cold war story    cold war thriller    coup    coventry    crimea    deep pov    defector    erskine childers    espionage    espionage movel    espionage novel    espionage story    frogmen    future of literature    gang bang    gangbang    general ivanov    godiva    group sex    gulag    hand to hand combat    heroine    honey trap    icbm    interrogation    jane austen    john buchan    kaliningrad    karlskrona    kgb    kgb novel    kgb thriller    kidnap plot    kremlin    kurdistan    leofric    lidiya petrova    literary conventions    lubyanka    manhunt    marines    mi5    mi6    mig31    missiles    moscow    murder plot    naked tax ride    nato    naval academy    naval frogmen    naval infantry    olympics 2012    photo book    poison weapons    politburo    rape    red square    robert hendry    ronald reagan    russia    sevastopol    social history    soviet    soviet air defense force    soviet airborne forces    soviet ambassador    soviet cuiser    soviet military    soviet navy    soviet romance    soviet spy    soviet union    soviet warships    spetsnaz    spy    spy novel    spy story    spy thriller    spying    submarine    submarine pens    subnarine pens    the hook    torture    tyuratam    undercover    ussr    washington    white house    womens adeventure    womens esteem    yuri andropov   

• How We Learn to Spell by Risa Attrell on Jan. 23, 2011
  
  Risa Attrell produces a fascinating case for a better way of teaching kids to spell. In History one turn-off for kids is lists of dates of Kings or Presidents. I had a splendid history teacher who said dates were just convenient milestones and events were what mattered. He taught us the events and let us pick up the dates as we went along. I think Risa has applied similar thinking over words. We do need dates in history. Probably we need some spelling lessons as well as reading, but the case for a better approach is good. We have three little ones, and I am tempted to try Risa's guidelines. If they spell well, then I'll ask for a sixth star for you, Risa !