subject: My Chance Meeting With Author Carl James [print this page] The little puddle-jumper dropped in altitude a few hundred feet and rose again just as quickly as it had entered the vortex that made it flux in and out, up and down, around, between and in-between the white billowy clouds as it navigated its course to maintain its bearings on to Denver. It was a quiet thrill and quite exciting I remember; just like being on the roller coaster at Elitch's during summer school break.
It was a beautiful Montana day and I was returning to Denver. My business in Helena with the VMS system was completed and successful and I was rather content with the accomplishment. As the flight became calmer, on the loud speaker the pilot announced that we were now cruising at thirty-one thousand feet above the turbulence and that it would be smooth flying until we had to again renter the lower atmosphere of the city which is about seventeen miles from the mountains.
The plane held around one hundred people; four abreast. I happened to notice the stranger sitting next to me intently reading a book. It looked like a reference book and so I struck up a conversation with him. He happened to be an author of a trilogy and was reading to gain further information through his research for an upcoming book.
Carl James, author of THE SANDS of TIME TRILOGY, books of historical fiction set in Egypt, was on his way to New York to attend the marriage of his son; his wife and daughter and his grand children too, were with him. What impressed me about the man was his instant access and easy flow of conversation; a very likeable individual. What also impressed me was the support that his whole extended family gave him in his endeavor to write and especially the support and assistance he received from his immediate family.
The assistance and encouragement a writer receives from those nearest him can have a valuable effect on his writing career, allowing him/her the time, the atmosphere, and the business acumen to become successful.
We had a good conversation and learned from each other about our different interests and styles of writing and how important and beneficial encouragement and support can be to a writing career. Before I knew it the pilot announced that we were landing at Denver International Airport.
