As part of T.B. Scott Free Library’s Words Worth Hearing series, two local authors reflect on their writing journey and propose you begin yours now.
Prolific author Will Kalinke from Tomahawk and Merrill native Jim Finucan will share their experiences on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 7, beginning at 1 p.m. in the library’s Community Room.
Finucan grew up in Merrill, where he and his wife of 25 years have raised four children in the community. He’s a small business owner in Merrill, and always has something checked out from the library. His first writing effort, a nonfiction book called Past Due!, was published in 1997.
Last year, Finucan’s second book, The Spear, was published by Tate Publications. The Spear is an international actioner – that is, a work with a fast moving plot – that he wrote on a trip through Romania. Finucan, who notes, “I find travel to be highly inspiring,” used the beautiful Romanian setting and history as inspiration and backdrop for The Spear. The book was written on small moleskin notebooks, as Finucan bounced along on tour buses, stepping out of guided presentations to scrawl down facts for later reference.
Jim’s current writing projects include Wild Counselor, a memoir of the summer of 1977, when he was 11 years old and spending time with his homeless father (think of The Sandlot or Stand By Me), completed and now being marketed to publishing houses. He’s also scheduled, working with ScriptShark, to complete a screenplay for production of The Spear this year.
Professor Will Kalinke brings talent based on years of experience as an educator, traveler and adventurer to include thrills and enlightenment in his wide-ranging collection of published works. Check www.willkalinke.com for descriptions of what his books, ranging from the farming pioneer novel Stoneboat Journey, to the collection guide Memorabilia and Memories Shared, to his numerous mystery novels. The reader seeking books about gay characters will find mad passionate Loved to Death, which won the coveted Gold Seal of Literary Excellence. The Joshua series combines murder mystery with deer hunting. Jay Leggett made First Hunt famous. Will’s currently working on his tenth book in seven years: the working title is Sexuality, Sensuality, Spirituality in Hyde Park.
Kalinke was born on a Wisconsin farm in 1928, lived through the Great Depression, and became a teacher at age 19 in a one-room rural school. For four decades, he honed skills in the education field as teacher, principal, administrator, professor, adviser, and professional leader, but when he bought a motel in 1991, he began to accumulate experiences which, along with a lifelong interest in real-life mysteries, prompted him to write mystery books evoking multiple emotions. After successful treatment for cancer in 2007, Kalinke without hesitation reveals bits of a dynamic and challenging past.
Enjoy the stories of these guy authors Will Kalinke and Jim Finucan as you enjoy refreshments compliments of First Street Coffee Station and The Checkered Churn.