Dishonored and Forgotten - The Birth of a Book
We
became writers late in life. I’ve authored several novels
and a book of short-stories. My wife, Carolyn,
writes professional self-help books about parenting and communication skills,
especially for children. We often spend
time pursuing separate writing interests, sequestered in our separate
offices. Often, collaboration involved nothing
more than providing the first edit of each other's work.
One day we decided to take a break. It was off to Galveston (a short twenty-minute drive) for lunch at a favorite restaurant,
watching the ships plow through the channel to load and unload their cargo, including
the human variety from cruise ships. Tiring of that entertainment, we strolled Galveston's
historic Strand district, browsing through novelty and
antique shops.
In one shop, filled with posters, clothes, and items Carolyn calls antiques, but I classify as junk, we
found a book of short true crime stories.
It described events that occurred in Texas years ago. Shuffling through the pages, Carolyn pointed
out a story about a 1953 Houston narcotics scandal in which police officers confiscated illegal drugs, then sold them back to the
drug dealers. She was returning the book to the shelf when I realized I’d heard anecdotal accounts of this event while a young police
officer in Houston. I'd never
asked questions, but witnessed older cops tell the story (with
a wink and a nod) of an officer committing suicide at the police
station; the implication clear to me that it was more likely a murder,
possibly committed by his fellow officers.
Fascinated, we bought the book and embarked upon an extensive journalistic research
project. There were visits to public
libraries to request and copy pertinent
newspaper and magazine articles from the time, requests to Stanford
University for copies of a federal agent's papers (donated to the library after his death), and internet searches to
discover everything possible about
the case and its participants.
We developed family connections
for some of the characters who were involved in the case. My blogs
about the events prompted calls from some of those family members and other
interested readers. These contacts led to interviews with the
daughter-in-law of a police chief, the son of a police officer who had known
those involved, the nephew of the officer (who either committed suicide or was murdered at the police
station), and a great-granddaughter
of the pimp and drug-dealer
who testified against corrupt police.
One day Carolyn interrupted my writing as I prepared
yet another blog about the scandal to declare that was time to write a book
about the case. She suggested that, for
the first time, we collaborate on the telling of the story. Even with all our research, we soon realized
there were gaping holes in the lives of the characters and in the story itself. It would be difficult to write a true crime
account of the events.
So what would the book be? How does one describe a novel loosely based on actual events, but that has
considerable fiction interspersed to fill in those gaps?
Eventually it was decided. We
would refer to the book as a fictionalized account of the true
story of Houston's first police drug scandal. The
gestation period for our new project had begun.
I would complete a few chapters, after which Carolyn
would more fully develop the characters and the setting. After two preliminary edits, we recruited
beta readers to review the manuscript and make suggestions.
Finally,
just this month, on January 1, 2017, OUR BOOK WAS BORN. A New
Year's baby! We titled it Dishonored
and Forgotten, in honor of the police officer who may very well have
given his life for having reported the illegal activities of his fellow
narcotics officers. We hope you share
our joy in the new addition to our work.
Larry and Carolyn Ferrell Watts
Larry
and Carolyn are Texas authors who have teamed up as authors for the first time
to write Dishonored and Forgotten. Larry has a BA in Labor Studies and is a
graduate of the renowned Harvard University Trade Union Program whose mission
is to help union leaders develop problem
solving skills as well as discover ways to deepen public understanding of the
value and importance of labor.
Larry’s career in law
enforcement began in Houston, Texas, as a police officer. He became active in
police labor issues and served on the board of directors of the Houston Police
Officers’ Association and the National Association of Police Associations. He retired after 21 years and began working
for a state-wide association representing law enforcement officers throughout
Texas, eventually becoming the chief of staff. After 20 years, he again
retired, and began his first fiction novel, The
Missing Piece about an Austin police officer involved in shooting a black
citizen. Within a year, Watts was asked to assist the City of Austin develop a
labor relations department. Publication
of that novel was postponed for two years while he fulfilled the interesting
challenge. He has now published five
works of fiction and a book of short-stories. His experiences are fodder for and add depth to his writing.
Carolyn
worked for Continental Airlines for 16 years.
She was a flight attendant scheduler early in that career and worked in
Continental's Public Relations Department before returning to school to attain
a BS in Psychology and an MS in School Psychology. Her professional career has
spanned positions in education, a non-profit counseling center and shelter for
victims of domestic violence, and a private practice that enabled her to
fulfill her desire to work with couples and their children.
Carolyn
has advocated for children, parents and families for over 20 years as a
counselor and specialist in school psychology.
She is certified in marriage and family relationship therapies and in
advanced therapies for treating trauma, loss and PTSD. Her training in working with trauma was
valuable in 2011 when she volunteered to counsel victims and first responders
during devastating wildfires in Texas.
Dishonored and
Forgotten
is Carolyn's first venture into historical fiction writing. She has previously written six
read-play-learn-together books for therapists and parents to use while working
with children. She presents workshops to
mental health providers and parents.
Larry
and Carolyn live on the Texas Gulf Coast where they spend their time writing,
enjoying family and attempting to capture all that life has to offer.
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