Our guest character today is Preston Howard from Preston Howard's fictional autobiography/historical fiction/satire, The Sheltering Palms. Enjoy the interview!
What is your name?
Preston Howard
What do you look like?
A lady friend of mine once described me as a fetchin’ guy,
whatever that meant! Plus, she had some kind of serious eyesight issue. But really, other than the Roman nose,
somewhat bald head, and deep blue eyes, nothing else to mention.
Where are you today and what are you doing?
I am out on the back deck of my condo, overlooking beautiful
Lake Hamilton
in Hot Springs, AR,
and doing what I always do here: write, write, write! Will the IRS let me take
the deck as a business deduction for my office?
You come face to face with your worse enemy. How do you
react?
Ignore him or her. I won’t expend one whit of energy on
execrable human beings, I always wanted to use the word “execrable”------not
sure it’s the exact fit, but what the hell.
You keep a photo album of memories from your lifetime. If
you could only keep one photo, which one would that be?
A picture of my grandfather Buster-----a major figure in my
book-------holding my hand at around four years old, circa 1948. Buster’s
Volkswagen Bug sits in the background; likely one of the first in the U.S.
A police officer stops you for a
minor violation. What violation is that and how do you react?
Probably a speeding violation, which I have happily avoided
for years. I would be polite to the officer------my book centers around cops,
who were a passion for my entire career.
Do you have any phobias? What are they and how intense are
they? How have they impacted your life?
A terrifying encounter with heights, and intense doesn’t
even begin to describe my fear. When I was hiking up Mount Rainier
the first time with my oldest son, we were walking right by a crevice and I
completely froze up. My son gently put his hand on my right arm and said “Don’t
look down, Dad,” and I got through it. But I have stayed away from Rainier
ever since!
How do you feel about mortality?
Years ago, I worried about death, but not any longer. At
seventy-four years old, I realize several things: I have almost made it to the
average mortality rate for men; my life has been blessed many times over; and
the Grim Reaper is right around the corner ready to take me off to some other
place. I no longer fear the Grim Reaper or death…all part of the cycle of life.
What’s the last thing you do before you go to bed at night?
Read, read, read! Right now, I am reading “Parable of the
Sower” by Octavia Butler, a gripping tale about the decline of our country in
the 2020’s----more poverty and crime, and lack of food and water. I sadly
believe this prediction is way too likely.
Who is your best friend?
My two best friends have both died, one from cancer and the
other from Alzheimer’s. I cared for both men, and they show up in fictional
form in my book “The Sheltering Palms,” both in the dedication and the chapters
titled “Journeys across America”
and “Chris.”
Are you faith-oriented?
Not in the religious sense but maybe
in the sense that there is a universal force beyond our understanding. My
current beliefs can be best explained in the book’s chapter titled “How I
Became a Truly Ignorant Man.”
Are you married or in a relationship?
Married, and how my wife has put up with all my bullshit for
forty-two years is beyond my comprehension.
Do you have children?
Six: yours, mine and ours. All of them lead productive
lives, which is the best you can ever hope for.
You are at the zoo. What is your favorite animal?
The apes, because they are a gene or two away from humans,
and they sometimes remind me of some of my more clownish friends.
You just woke up to find that war has been declared. What’s
the first thing you would do?
Pour a glass of expensive brandy, smoke one of my good
cigars, and hope the bomb centers right over my head so I don’t have to endure
the aftermath.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew
up?
I wanted to play first base for the old New York Giants, but
back in the fifties I believe that Whitey Lockman would not have appreciated me
poaching on his position. Besides, in my chapter titled “Fire Ballin’ Lefty,”
you will discover that my abilities on the baseball field never endeared me to
the major leagues.
If there was one thing you could change about yourself, what
would that be?
Patience has never been one of my virtues. In fact, I have
been going nuts trying to hurry up and finish this damn questionnaire! LOL
About the Author
Preston Howard spent his
entire career working on behalf of police officers, representing them under
adverse circumstances, negotiating contracts to improve officers’ benefits and
working conditions, and training police union officials in the art of
leadership. He has written numerous books and lectured not only in this country
but abroad as well.
His latest book is the
fictional autobiography/historical fiction/satire, The
Sheltering Palms.
Website Address: http://www.prestonhowardauthor.com
Facebook Address: Preston Howard - Author
About the Book:
Title: THE SHELTERING PALMS
Author: Preston Howard
Publisher: Preston Howard Press
Pages: 519
Genre: Fictional Autobiography/Historical Fiction/Satire
Author: Preston Howard
Publisher: Preston Howard Press
Pages: 519
Genre: Fictional Autobiography/Historical Fiction/Satire
BOOK BLURB:
Renowned police labor lawyer, Preston
Howard, reached a watershed in his life—a forced retirement from the firm he
built from the ground up and a cancer diagnosis. These two events made him take
a step back and reflect over a life that had at times been hilarious,
irreverent, self-mocking, eerie and even a bit, make that, quite lewd.
A family of unique characters guided
the lawyer’s formative years: a bourbon-swilling, brilliant yet flawed
grandfather who mentored the young lad in matters of religion, politics and the
quest for knowledge; a psychic mother; an oversexed nanny; an aunt and uncle
who fought on the front lines of integration; and a fire-balling uncle who got
his fifteen minutes of fame in The Show.
Preston Howard first made his mark as
a crime-fighting attorney representing the Tucson Police Department. Then he spent
over forty illustrious years as a labor lawyer working with police officers and
union leaders and handling the gamut of fascinating, high-profile cases across
the country and even in other countries.
His many tall yarns might be viewed by some with the greatest suspicion,
but his story-telling is undeniably first-class, witty, and absorbing.
PRAISE:
“The best
book I’ve ever read about lawyers, cops, and unions.” Bob Helpert, Tucson,
Arizona
ORDER YOUR COPY:
Link to book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sheltering-Palms-Preston-Howard-ebook/dp/B07HS2317W/
Link to Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-sheltering-palms
Link to Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1437685823
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