A Life in Multiple Genres Over the years, while trying to master the craft of writing, I’ve read many times that an author should not attempt to write in multiple genres. Marketing experts will tell you to focus on one type of book, doing more confuses your audience. I don’t think people live that way. People like variation; we don’t eat the same food every night, do not watch one kind of tv show, or attend one type of concert. Why should I limit myself to writing one type of book? My life has been shaped by two genres, history and spirituality. I’ve been fascinated by both subjects for as long as I can remember. Long before I was done with sixth grade, I had read everything the school library had on history. My spare time was spent refighting the Second World War on the floor of my room, with plastic soldiers, planes, and ships. My interest in spiritual matters also began to show itself at this time. My parents had no interest in religious topics. My father, a cancer research doctor, had no time for things whose existence could not be proven. (His work on using bone marrow transplants to cure leukemia eventually led to a Nobel Prize in 1990). My family moved from Cooperstown, NY to the suburbs of Seattle in 1963; I was twelve then. I still enjoyed good books on history or historical fiction, but I began to increase my study of spiritual matters. I disliked most mainstream religions, as I believed they were focused on money and control. That statement is very ironic. In 1973, the year I graduated from college, I joined a religious group known for its odd doctrines and control of members’ beliefs and actions. My wife and I stopped our association with the group in 1988 and formally ended it in 1989. This statement appears on the back cover of my novel “Armageddon’s Disciples.” I believe it is worth repeating here. “In addition to his love of history, Jeff has also indulged in an extensive layman’s study of religion. This study has been informed by Jeff’s fifteen-year experience with a group many consider a cult. That experience inspired “Armageddon’s Disciples” and another book to follow within the next year. Jeff is an independent investigator; he does not attend any church or adhere to a particular point of view.” I have five books for sale in three Genres: History (The Privateer), Alternate History (the trilogy beginning with 1910: War in the Pacific), and mystery/ suspense (Armageddon’s Disciples). Sequels are on the way.