Literary Agents
New from Hal Alpiar
BUT NOT FOR SALE —
Hal has just written and designed a 300-page,
hard cover, privately published and
commissioned work, entitled:
LITERARY AGENT INQUIRIES WELCOME
GOOD LUCK!
Wisdom from a Life
of Leadership
in Turbulent Times…
The Authorized Memoir of Ernst Dannemann
A German Jew, Dannemann arrived at New York Harbor aboard a ship that cruised away from under Hitler’s rise. He was 15-years-old, alone, and spoke almost no English. After making his way to Syracuse, New York, and delivering newspapers to get by, he graduated high school, then went to work on a Delaware chicken farm, and in a hosiery mill, before enlisting in the U.S. Army.
Dannemann received his U.S. Citizenship and was shipped to London, where he served in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, midst daily bombing raids on the City. He won numerous awards and commendations en route to an honorable discharge.
He next served the American Jewish Distribution Committee, where he was responsible for assisting war-displaced families. In managing a major black-market targeted warehouse and airfield in Germany, he was subjected to almost daily raids at gunpoint by a wide variety of desperate gangs, settled violent disputes and survived.
After a sixty-day courtship, he married a Holocaust survivor and stayed happily married for sixty years, raising two daughters, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
After settling with his new wife and children in Delaware, Dannemann started a highly successful chain of fabric stores and –through a long series of volunteer positions– worked his way into a human rights and government watchdog activist leadership position, before ending up in charge of the Delaware State Pension Board of Trustees.
His Chairmanship of the State Pension Fund was credited with raising State Pension Fund coffers from worst in the U.S. to best. His accomplishments led him to develop and maintain close personal ties to top U.S. federal and state leaders nationwide, and earned him trusted advisorship roles with six governors (three Democrats and three Republicans!).
Dannemann won the esteemed Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and the highest citizen award given by the State of Delaware.
He parlayed that recognition into thirteen years of devoted volunteer service in the development of a comprehensive free-market competitive State Healthcare Program, working with a highly-esteemed board of advisors that included top physicians, lawyers, insurance experts, and former Governor Pierre duPont.
That major and highly-praised 60-page document should have, many healthcare experts proclaimed, become the model for nationwide implementation, but was literally buried without even acknowledgement by then Lt. Gov. John Carney (who, ironically, was just elected to the U.S. Congress).
# # #
A sampling of reader comments . . .
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“Well done! I just got a copy of the book this morning and it has already brought me to tears. You have done a wonderful job. I can tell Mr. Dannemann touched your heart.” Rich Phillips
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“Mr. Alpiar, you have crafted such a readable memoir that I can almost hear Ernst Dannemann speaking through it. You creally captured the man. The book is a priceless treasure I would have paid any price for.” Sandy McNinch
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“You have really written a great description of Ernie and his life the way I knew him and saw him day to day for so many years. The book is accurate and entertaining. I will read it many times.” Debbie Angstadt
# # #
And NOW . . .
inspired by true events . . .
a steaming story that
astonishes, laughs,
teaches, and horrifies.
It works!
From page one in the middle
of Jersey Shore swampland,
in the middle of the night,
searching for a mud-sucked
corpse in a winter storm…
to a grand-slam ending
readers will never guess:
~~~ ~~~
H~I~G~H T~I~D~E
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sabotage At Sea
Record Quarter Billion Dollar
Drug Bust Sinks NJ Boat
in Stormy Transfer
Drownings. Murders.
$12.5 Million, Crewmen Missing
40,000 Hash “Balls” Surf Onto
Boardwalk Beaches at High Tide
Heartbeats away from the biggest drug deal in US history, the 56-foot Solamente mob-family trawler Maltese is bouncing like a toy, tethered to Colombian freighter Hombre in rough seas fifteen miles off the Jersey Shore.
A fierce nor’easter threatens delivery. Under the not-so-watchful eyes of two drunken captains, twenty tons of hashish are being unloaded from the Hombre when the trawler’s tonnage capacity is mistakenly exceeded, and the Maltese suddenly sinks.
In the chaos, wind and rain, panicked crewmen are saved by a third, safety backup, escort boat that their boss’s henchmen blackmailed away from Seaport College Professor-of-the-Year Rick Maddigan and his live-aboard student girlfriend JP.
As the Maltese sinks, the Hombre turns and runs. . . murders, drownings, and arrests in her wake. 40,000 “hashballs” burst through soggy cartons headed for boardwalk beaches. Scavenging hippies scamper the shoreline in frenzied pursuit.
Maddigan and JP coerce DEA agents to abandon drug charges that triggered the blackmail, and retrieve their boat. Having stirred up gangster politics in the process of master-minding the blundering sabotage at sea, the couple end up being held at gunpoint at the mob boss’s estate. Tempers flair, and turncoat heroics spare them in a last-minute assault and bullet barrage.
Millions of dollars are recovered, but $12.5 million vanishes – along with crewmen suspected as the source of startling worldwide cash deliveries.
# # #
A sampling of reader comments . . .
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“The scene where the younger students are kicked out of class is an excellent one, and I like the idea of a professor at a community college deciding he’s going to act the way he does (the “bullshit” stamp is really funny). . . you’re clearly full of good ideas.” Doug Stewart, Literary Agent, Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc.
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“I didn’t need to read a word of your manuscript to be convinced that you are a genius. Your approach, niche, packaging are all sensational.” Harriet Rubin, VP/Founder, DOUBLEDAY/Currency Publishing
# # #
AVAILABLE ON REQUEST TO AAR-MEMBER LITERARY AGENTS:
- Three-Page or one-page or single paragraph Synopsis of HIGH TIDE
- HIGH TIDE Chapter Outline (Yes, even though it’s fiction!)
- Full HIGH TIDE Manuscript or Sample Pages
COMPREHENSIVE Author-Driven Marketing Plan and Promotion Strategy for HIGH TIDE
- Author Bio
- Competitive Book Analysis
Please specify mail or email address. Please address personal emails to Hal@TheWriterWorks.com or phone Hal direct at 302.933.0116. Thank you for stopping by. Please return again soon.
# # #
Hal has authored hundreds of published articles and poems in a wide range of magazines, blogs, websites, newsletters, newspapers, and books.
His full-length books include DOCTOR BUSINESS (nonfiction hard cover for physicians; PMIC, Los Angeles; Amazon 5-Star Selection), DOCTOR SHOPPING (nonfiction paperback for healthcare consumers; HIP imprint of PMIC, Los Angeles; winner - National Health Information Book Award), and “GOOD LUCK!” (a commissioned memoir hard cover; NoWaste Publishing Division of Creative Imaging, Inc, Fenton, MO)
Hal is also seeking agent or children’s publishing editor representation for his fully illustrated DOODLE-OO The Bare-Headed Bear (unpublished anchor story in a children’s self-esteem verse series, successfully tested with 400 children in three states).
Hal’s short story, “The Dirt Floor Visit” is featured in a 2010 Nightengale Press collection entitled, The Art of Grandparenting.
More Hal at www.TheWriterWorks.com
As an avid reader and book store junkie, I cannot wait to see this one on the shelf. Having read a larger sample than above I so want to know how it plays out! I will look forward to the day I cannot put nice big hardback down until I turn the final page!
Your style and flow causes me to do nothing else but want to read more!
Dear Hal ,
From one artist to another, though our form of expression may be different, BRAVO!
The premise of your novel is enticing. The researched detail, that I know is your trademark will give this book its authentic voice.
A literary agent looking for a mature, determined writer for a long term investment in creative and prolific work is well advised to contact you.
Regards,
Helen/Kelly
[Helen "Kelly" Harris is a truly talented and unique fine artist. Visit her work at http://www.helenharrispaintings.com]
There will be many literary agents in mourning for not finding Mr. Alpiar sooner. These works? It’s only a matter of very short time that this author will be one of the most sought after! Congratulations on a wonderful blog!
Hal,
As always, you astound your readers with stories that jump off the page and bring the events to life. What a great adventure you must have had these past months interviewing, writing and rewriting the stories of Ernst Dannemann, a true hero.
Jonena –
Your kind words are so very much appreciated. Yes, it was indeed a great adventure meeting with and putting the pieces of Ernst’s life together. One of the greatest compliments I ever received as a writer (besides–truly–this one from you!!!!) was when I got to read the entire final manuscript all the way through with Ernst just four days before he died.
When we turned the last page together, he looked at me and said, “Hal, I always thought that I had an interesting life, but I never knew it for sure until I read what you wrote about me; thank you for this gift for my children, grand-children, and great-grand-children!”
Thank YOU, Jonena, for being such a loyal supporter of my work. You know, of course, that you have my very warmest of Christmas wishes for you and your family. I look forward to continuing our connection in 2011. Best – Hal
We’ve known Ernie & Terry Dannemann ever since we first moved to Delaware in February 1958.
I witnessed first hand theirgenerous philanthropy.
At a fundraising event at the old synagogue on Forrest Avenue, I saw Ernie scold a man who had just written out a check for $300.
He said: “That’s not enough, Abe! You wrote out that check too easily!That means you could have easily pledged more!
Every year I pledge more than I think I can afford & at the end of the year, I discover that business has been so good, I could have pledgede more! So, every year, I pledge more than I pledged the year before. I’m superstitious, so I’m afraid not to.”
I saw his business grow from one store on Governor’s Avenue to many stores in over a dozen stores in a half dozen States on the East Coast, over this time.
Recently, I cited this in a letter to the Residents of Westminster Village, here in Dover. encouraging them to contribute to our Employee Appreciation Fuund.
I wrote:
“Give ‘Til It Hurts
When it comes to charity, give till it hurts. If it doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t stretch us. When worry and doubt fill your mind right before you give, see it as an opportunity to practice resistance and grow. On the other side of the resistance is a miracle. But don’t take my word for it, try it out yourself.
Back in 1958, when we first moved to Dover, I met a very fascinating person, Ernie Dannemann, who lived by this creed. At a fund raising event for a charity, one attendee wrote out a check for $300. Ernie scolded him, saying: “That’s not enough, Abe! You wrote out that check too easily, indicating you could have given more! Every year I pledge MORE than I think I can afford, and when the end of the year comes, I find I could have pledged more.
Every year I pledge more than I did the year before and things have been going so well for me that, now, I’m afraid not to!”
At that time, Ernie owned a small fabric store on Governors Avenue, between Loockerman and North Streets.
When the Rodney Village Shopping Center opened Ernie opened a Fabric store there, too. It was very successful, too. I asked when he was going to close the store on Governors Avenue and he replied: “When it stops making money.”
Several years later, The Blue Hen Mall opened in Dover and Ernie opened another store there. He then started opening new stores in new malls, from Virginia to New York, and he ended up with 13 stores in 6 states! He hired a driver and commuted from store to store, conducting business during the drive, using a mobile phone. The result was he and his wife, Terry, became multi-millionaires and he sold his company to a conglomerate in the 1970s.
The Dannemanns throughout this whole time and afterwards, remained generous contributors to many charitable causes. I always associated their success to his philosophy of giving and have tried to follow this creed ever since.
Ernie’s parents escaped from Germany in 1938, while Ernie was in his teens. He enlisted in the Army, while still in his teens, and served in Europe during the War. He only had a High School education, but it was more than enough for him to succeed.
We were living in California in the 1990s and mentioned we were planning to return to Dover, because we had run into health problems. They told us that Westminster Village had opened here and we should look into retiring here. We did and that’s how we ended up moving into Westminster Village in December 2000.
Just a little trivia to try to encourage those of us who have yet to contribute to the Employee Appreciation Fund to “think generously”, when you make your contribution!
Woody Auerbach, Chairman of the Employee Appreciation Fund”
Following that letter, I had several residents and staff relate stories to me unique stories of their encounters with the Dannemanns.
I came to this site, because I am interested in purchasing a few copies of your book on Ernie, to give out to our 3 children who also knew the Dannemanns, as well as give one copy to the Library here at Westminster Village.
Please let me know how I can do this. When I clicked on what I thought was this book, another title popped up.
Thanks, Woody Auerbach
Hal when I read in the paper sometime back that you were writing Mr Dannemann’s autobiography, I thought that would be very interesting to read, since I worked for Mr and Mrs Dannemann many years ago, as a key punch operator, when they had the office on Lockerman St. in Dover. I came to your website after reading the article in the paper to see where this book could be purchased. Sorry to see it can’t be. The Dannemann’s were wonderful people to work for, and after reading the blips in the paper, I’m sure I didn’t realize how wonderful.
I read about Mr. Dannemann’s autobiography in the Delaware State News 12/30/10. Where can I get this book?
Thanks.
Thank you ever so much, Woody, for your warm and enlightening recollections of times spent with Ernie. I am making arrangements for free books for you. Be sure to see the email I sent you about this earlier today. Thanks again, and I hope to see you visiting here again in the near future. Happy New Year! Regards – Hal
Hi Debra – Thanks for your visit and your comments, Because the Dannemann’s were so important to you, I am arranging for a free copy of the book for you. Please see the email I sent you earlier today for the details. Happy New Year! (and pleaase return here to visit anytime!) Regards – Hal
Hi Jo Ann – Thanks for your visit and interest in obtaining a copy of the book. I have arranged for a free copy for you. Please see the email I sent you earlier for details. Happy New Year! (And please do return here again soon.) Regards – Hal
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