Barry Clay

I live close to Harrisburg, PA and have been married since 1990 to a wonderful woman who puts up with me disappearing into my study more often than she would like. I have four children, one of whom is still at home, two very cute granddaughters, and an infant grandson. I am a graduate of Red Land High school in Lewisberry, PA; attended DIckinson College in Carlisle, PA for two years; and finished my degree by graduating summa cum laude from Shippensburg University, also in PA, with a BA in English. Shippensburg provided a good education at a reasonable price. For years before my marriage, I performed on stage in area community theaters, directed and music directed stage and musical shows, and otherwise kept myself occupied until, on a blind date, I met my wife. Unlike previous dates where either I or the lady I was a dating knew from the first we weren't a match, I was nearly certain my wife was the woman for me. (She was less certain.) I am very, very glad I waited for the right woman. Who else would tolerate me? I have had many jobs over the years. I've dug ditches, stocked grocery shelves, tutored for room and board, cleaned restrooms, mopped floors, taught cartooning, worked in a bank, asked if you'd like fries with that (and cooked the fries to boot), ordered carpet for cars, and worked commission sales at Sears. I recently retired with over 37 years from the Federal employee workforce. I consumed your tax dollars in a Supply Agency for the Department of Defense, saving you money that will be shamelessly wasted somewhere else. My latest book "Close Enough for Government Work" relates anecdotes from those years and includes my cartoons! Coworkers came from all over to see those cartoons, and you can do that now just by purchasing the book. Now retired, I still keep busy. I conduct the Home School Orchestra in our area. I have volunteered as conductor for over 23 years, and I'm told they'll keep me - if for no other reason than I'm willing to do the work for nothing. I have been writing stories for decades in different genres. I've added spice to my writing life by switching from comedy, science fiction ("Armstrong City," "Speaking"), mystery, and horror ("Brushes with the Supernatural" and the forthcoming "If You Don't Watch Out") as the muse strikes me. I try to keep my stories mature, but not so mature your children couldn't read them. The exception would be "Collisions", which depicts some adult situations. While not graphic by today's standards, adults should use discretion in allowing their children to read it. The sequel to "Collisions" ("Until He Meets an Agony") is due out in 2025. My big sellers are my Sherlock Holmes books, "The Darkened Village", "The Leveson-Gower Theft", and "The Medium of Death", the novelette, "The MelRoy Theatre Ghost," and the collections "A Mistake, Two Incidents, and a Murder," "A Disappearance and a Temptation," and "The Incidents of Sherlock Holmes." Hot on his heels for sales is "Charlie Chan's Luxury Cruise," a tribute to both the books by Earl Derr Biggers and the old black and white movies. More of both Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Chan are in the works. My favorite book is "Marishka," a fictionalized account of the stories told to us kids by my maternal grandmother, who escaped the Armenian persecution as a child. Much of the story -- in fact the most unbelievable parts -- is true, and an afterward identifies the fact from the fiction. I also write non-fiction. I have been a Christian for over 50 years, and I decided to write a book on theology for the layman, "Solid Ground." While written primarily for believers (to provide the grounding in the faith I missed because I was not raised in a Christian home), it also should provide easy access to the unbeliever who wants to know more about how the everyday Christian he may meet approaches his or her faith. You can buy the complete tome, or you can by individual chapters at reduced prices in eBooks and (some) in printed book formats. Another book, "UnReformed" assembles some of the most popular chapters from "Solid Ground" as well as additional material. This book explains why I evolved from what is called "Reformed Theology" and became "UnReformed." If you don't know what that means, read the book! My book "Misadventures in Childrearing" describes true (and funny) wife-and-child-approved stories (and cartoons) of our family, and "Molded by Humor" is an anthology collecting stories that have been inspired by "actual events." In addition to the books and stories you will see on Amazon, I've written four musicals (two of which were performed locally to good reviews), three piano sonatas, one etude, ten works for Christian choirs and ensembles, over 40 works for young orchestra, and even have a passel of cartoons I drew when I was a working level employee. In my spare time, I play piano, am a chain reader, and work around my house which, while smaller than the house in the movie "The Money Pit", consumes nearly as much of our resources. And like almost everyone else, I have friends, too!