Phillip, a California Native, is a published writer-photographer. He lives in Morro Bay and is often seen hanging ten at ‘A' Beach. Friends say he plays a mean Blues guitar.
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Lorin Lee Cary
Author Interview by Phillip Cole
I'd like to introduce Lorin Cary. a humble and extremely funny man and not-so-absent-minded professor. Lorin, a two time Ohio History Association Book Award winner and Fulbright Senior Scholar, also has many awards for his photography work. He's lived in Cambria for nearly two decades.
Phillip: (P) So Lorin, you're actually Dr. Lorin Cary, college professor and historian.
Lorin: (L) Yes. Former. But I'd like to set the record straight about one thing. I have never worn nor owned a pocket protector, although I did wear those cool tweed jackets with suede patches on the elbows.
P: After all your years researching history and historical events, what moved you to write fiction?
L: I retired in the early nineties and took a brief job with a company that developed computer games. They needed historical research on their latest game idea, based on Dante's Inferno. They liked my background reports and suggested I write the first draft of the game.
History is based on cause and effect relationships and I found I really enjoyed tweaking the actual events to invent a story. After that I was hooked. I don't play computer games and never found out if they even completed the project.
P: And that's how The Custer Conspiracy came to life?
L: The story actually developed from the main character, Walter. It was just about him in the beginning. I remember one of Walter's first lines was "This is your breast." It was a conversation a neighbor overheard while Walter was serving a chicken dinner. Although that scene didn't make the final cut, it helped develop this quirky character. The history angle came later.
P: Why Custer?
L: I had taught a 'Guilded Age' course and read a lot about the period. Also, Custer had lived in Monroe, Michigan. There's a great collection of Custer material there, including the buckskin outfit he wore while in Kansas a bit after the Civil War. I think that sparked my interest in him and found Custer to be fascinating.
I read Son of The Morning Star, by Evan S. Connell. It's the most definitive, and readable, biography of Custer and The Battle of The Little Big Horn. Connell described a mystery that developed about the mausoleum of Two Moons, a chief who survived the battle and lived into the nineteen thirties. It contained a secret vault which held various artifacts from the battlefield, and a sealed envelope. When the vault was reopened the envelope was gone. The idea of the 'Journal' stemmed from this. I've attempted to make it as authentic and contemporary to the time as possible, using phonetic spelling that might be expected from a man able to read and write but who was not well educated.
I also visited the Black Hills and the site of The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
P: I find your book both humorous and interesting. But tell me, how much of this quirky professor is actually you?
L: (Laughing) Well I suppose that unconsciously there might be bit of me there. You know they say there is always some truth in fiction.
P: Before giving away too much, I think our readers should visit your web site, www.lorinleecary.com to get a peek into this hysterically historical story and maybe pick up their own copy. It can be purchased from your web site, via Author House as well as Amazon.
P: Lorin, I'd like to mention your love of photography. You've received awards from Artists Association of Cambria, The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, two art museums, and the list goes on. You fell in love with photography at a fairly young age.
L: In eighth grade I took a film developing class. We did everything in black and white back then. As I watched my first negative develop, it was absolutely magical to see that image come to life.
My family moved to Japan when I started high school. In the ninth grade, I took a photography class and became a teacher's assistant. The first picture I ever sold was during that time. I took a shot of two ball players who collided jumping for a fly ball. I think I had a box camera at the time. I had to hold it low between the legs of the person in front of me to get the shot.
I continued as my school photographer in Annandale, VA, and while in college in Ohio and France. I really specialized in portraits.
P: Thank you Lorin for giving us a peek into your life and sharing your new book and your love of photography.
If you'd like to see some of Lorin's Photography, check it out at www.cambriacreations.com
In other words, Lorin Cary is yet another talent we claim as our own, here on the SLO coast. Pick up a copy of The Custer Conspiracy. I think you'll like it.
Read an Excerpt from Lorin Lee Cary's novel, The Custer Conspiracy |
