25 years of living in Europe has had an interesting effect on my writing. Although I am trained as a historian, the opportunities for expanding ones horizons are limitless overseas, given the cultural and geographical differences.

My most recent book, released August 21, 2018, explores popular culture in Czechoslovakia during the late communist era. It is an oral history about Czechoslovakia, employing interviews with numerous people.

I am not an expert in Czech history, nor do I consider myself an oral historian first and foremost. I did learn quite a bit about interviewing while working on the book, however. My point is that I am not certain that I would have (or could have) undertaken such a project if I were living stateside and teaching in a conventional brick and mortar university. The experience of having lived in the CZ/SK republics, the learning of the language and culture, and the many stories collected afforded me a unique perspective and opportunity. I am very thankful that I took that opportunity and was able to produce a work reflecting it.

At present, I have a novel underway - my first stab at such a medium. It has been a long time coming, but this will be a mainly non-fictional account of restaurant work in the 1980s.

That's it for my blog, day 1. More to follow! Please feel free to leave feedback.

t.