Hal McFarland

Hal McFarland is a Burlington, Kentucky, native and a graduate of Georgetown and Xavier Universities. He also attended Butler University and, in Germany, the Goethe Institute. He is a retired school counselor, as well as a former speech and drama teacher, and has been named Kentucky Forester of the Year. He has written a local best-selling historical fiction novel called "A Dream within a Dream," a story of the 1943 Boone County Kiger murders. For this novel, in 2009, he was awarded The Anne W. Fitzgerald Research Award by the Historic Preservation Review Board. Hal has been invited to discuss this book with such diverse groups as The Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, The Boone County Library, Campbell County Library, the Gallatin County HS Forensic Science Classes, and numerous private book clubs throughout Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. He is a member of the Boone County Historical Society as well as a former member of The Boone County Historic Preservation Board. "Fear the Moonlight" is his fourth journey into the realm of fiction, the others being "A Dream Within A Dream," and "The Double-N Man," followed by his recent novel of international intrigue, "Braving the Shadows." He has also co-authored a children’s book called "The Life and Times of Dexter" and a two-act play, "Farewell To Rosegate," which was produced by The Union Community Theater and performed at Ryle Theater in Union, Kentucky. Hal, with his wife, Barbara, (also an author and playwright) lives on a Western Boone County, Kentucky, farm, in a 19th century barn which he, over the course of a decade, converted into their home. * * * LOOKING BACK Sometimes I look at myself as the Grandma Moses of literature: I didn't begin writing until I was in my mid-70’s; but to my delight, I’ve found that one of the most satisfying parts of being published is talking to book clubs, libraries, classrooms of students, and others. Students, more than anyone else, occasionally, bring me up short with their brutally honest questions--one in particular, I remember: "Why would an old guy like you want to write a novel?" Because I had been asked that before (although not in quite the same way!), I had a number of pat answers—but the truth is that one day, after retirement, I was grumping around, trying to find an interesting hobby—anything! And Barbara, my wife, said, in frustration, “Isn’t there some mystery in life you'd like to research--some answer you need to find? Isn't there something in your past 75 years that demands another look on your part?" That’s when I decided to research the old Kiger murders. It turned into my first novel, "A Dream Within A Dream: the Joan Kiger Story"; and as I finished it, I decided upon a larger challenge: I would expand my writing goals to include an attempt at each of the major forms of literature. Looking down the road, I could see myself doing a play, then a fictional novel, capped off by one of my earliest loves, Science Fiction! Years went by, and I kept researching and writing; and one by one, I was able to check off these various types of literature: "A Dream Within a Dream"--historical fiction. "Farewell to Rosegate"--a two-act play (co-authored), which, by the way, was picked up immediately by the Union Community Theater and produced. "The Life and Times of Dexter"—a children’s book (co-authored). "Braving the Shadows"--fiction/adventure. "Fear the Moonlight"--science fiction. I'm not ready to think about an autobiography, maybe because I’ve always felt that that was something a person did just before dying; I'm not interested in pursuing that great adventure just yet. Another reason for this plan to tackle different forms of literature was that I simply did not know what I was particularly good at, if anything. How does one find out where one’s talent lies? What if Shakespeare had tried only poetry, or Hemingway, only plays, or Shaw, only novels? They would have missed their calling, and the world would have been worse off because of it! To conclude, looking back upon my attempts, I find that I'm probably adequate in each of the venues but not particularly good at any one; so at the end of my writing career, I have learned that I am average. Is that such a bad thing? Isn't that preferable to never having tried at all? Hal McFarland farlandfarms@yahoo.com Mr. McFarland will be discussing his books and signing them in Room A of the Burlington Library, at 7 pm on Wednesday, March 25.