The Sound of Money is scheduled to be released on October 30, 2021, the 36th birthday of my fourth child, my son Nathan. Nathan was not only born in, but was made in, Spain, and we gave him the middle name “Miguel.”
I picked that date because there is a very popular saying in Spain that you must do three things before you die: write a book, plant a tree, and have a child. I have had four children and written a book, but my son Nathan and I are going to plant a tree together on his birthday, the day my first novel is released.
The Sound of Money is the first in my trilogy The Three Sounds of Happiness. All the titles are based on based on a saying by Mutamid, an 11th century Moorish poet king in Sevilla: The three sounds of happiness are: the sound of money, the sound of water, and the sound of the voice of your lover.
All three books are set in 1980’s Spain, about an American living and working in Spain, and all three are inspired by my own real-life experiences.
The Three Sounds of Happiness is the title of the triology.
The Sound of Money is the title of the first novel, which is about an American who takes up treasure hunting with his son, but partners with a corrupt Guardia Civil officer. What starts as a hobby based on a coin given the son by the American Ambassador ends in a life and death struggle with the Guardia Civil officer. The protagonist, Dave, is also searching for a half-brother his father told him about while on his death bed.
The Sound of Water is the title of the second novel, and is about a jihadist terrorist attack targeting American servicemen, prompting an attack on Libya (both actual occurrences). But, the same night the F-111 bombers are flying from England to Libya, there is a mid-air collision of two commercial airliners in Spanish air space. Is there a connection? What caused the mid-air collision?
The Sound of Your Lover is the title of the third novel, another adventure, with a love story. They say that blame is the cancer of relationships, and what could be worse for a parent than to lose a child?
My other publications:
Your Book, My Mission, my chapter (number 9 of 22) in Success, Success Secrets to Help You Live a Happier, Healthier & Wealthier Life, with Jack Canfield, Amazon Best-Seller
Overcoming a Writer’s Barriers to Successful Persistence, my chapter in Quitless: The Power of Persistence in Business and Life, a Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best-Seller.
Similarities Between The Libro De Buen Amor (The Book Of Good Love) And Sexual Iconography In Romanesque Churches, available on my website here, originally published in Spanish (Similitudes Entre El Libro De Buen Amor Y La Iconografía Sexual En El Románico) in Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita, y el Libro de Buen Amor, Congreso 5 homenaje a Joseph T. Snow, and online in the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.
The Story of Virgil in the Basket, available on my website here, originally published in Spanish (La historia de Virgilio en la Cesta) in Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita, y el Libro de Buen Amor, Congreso 6 and online in the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.
300,000 Archeological Items (and Coins) Seized in Raids in Spain, article in Celator Magazine, July 2007, available on my website here.