Immigrants, New York was where our family landed, and where I grew up. It’s where I still live today. I can’t claim to have grown up in abject poverty, but we weren’t rich. I remember living off the charity of others. I also remember that through hard work and determination we were able to overcome our economic condition. My father did it for me, I did it for my children. I studied, I worked. I retired a Commander in the US Navy. You could call me by my rank or by my medical degree. But I hate labels, Raoul will do just fine.

My desire to be a writer was inspired by many of the authors I read and fueled by a lasting comment from my sixth-grade teacher. Yet it’s taken me a long time to take the leap. Bitten by a travel bug, I’ve seen a great deal of our world, some good, some not so much. I’ve lived a life. And now I’m in a position where I can share some of what I’ve experienced with you, my readers. The characters are fictional, but not all of what they deal with is imagined. As you follow the father and his daughter, I hope you’ll be entertained and perhaps learn something you might not have known.