How A Historian Writes Fantasy By W.E. Brower Jr.

Although many people know of my nearly four decades of research into the Titanic, there are those who find it surprising that like an onion, the ship and her demise are only a facet of who I am. Yes, I’m still a historian to the core who always looks back on the past but there are other avenues of interest and even legendary mysteries still waiting to be solved. My father, William Brower Sr. worked for Eastern Airlines, and growing up in an aviation-heavy family environment meant that vacation abroad was quite common. I walked the Aztec ruins of Mexico when I was four years old and even toured the decks of H.M.S. Bounty around the same time while home in Florida. Four years later, my Dad pulled strings with friends in Ecuador so that we joined a scientific expedition to the Galapagos Islands years before they were open to the public.

As I learned to read, I raided the collection of books in our living room and though it took time to pronounce and at times grasp the subject, I was exposed to titles such as The Book of the Dead by E.A. Wallace Budge, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo by Jimmy Doolittle, War As I Knew It by George Patton, and also The History of the Dudley Family by Dean Dudley my great, great grandfather. The latter book series traced my family genealogy directly to William the Conqueror.?Of course, growing up in public schools, I was the odd duck to both students and faculty alike. Teachers would write notes complaining that the Inca hunting whistle I brought in for show and tell wasn’t what they expected to see from a nine-year-old. At one point, some classmates of mine were gawking over an issue of National Geographic magazine; they were observing the nude murals photographed in the ruins of Pompeii. While they gawked at what was painted, I was impressed more by the condition of them!

By high school, I was writing short stories for the previous four years of middle school and already set my goal to venture into deep-sea exploration and utilize my writing skills on the side to contribute to various publications and journals. It came as no surprise that while getting bored during my freshman Earth Science class I began outlining plots for potential stories until I saw a young man diagonal from me drawing skulls on his notepad, “Do you know how to draw a Minotaur?” I asked.

He looked at me and five minutes later, delivered the mythical beast. By the end of class, I developed a friendship with Rodrigo Negreira that would last years. During that time, the drawings soon inspired a fantasy series penned by myself as well as a soundtrack composed by a fellow classmate, Paul Valdez.

I graduated high school in 1994 and packed my stories away in a filing cabinet, life called and six months later, my life changed when James Cameron announced a planned dive to Titanic for his upcoming film. Each of my friends who first collaborated likewise moved on with their lives. It wasn’t until our ten-year reunion when old friends asked whatever happened to the stories that a folder of faded drawings were scanned and preserved while notebooks were typed into word processors. Although I’ve yet to dive to Titanic or explore the Valley of the Kings in person, my imagination has always been my gateway.

It’s been over thirty years since I first leaned across my desk to ask Rodrigo if he knew about drawing Minotaurs but within that point in time, my series has caught the attention of a literary agency, and now The Legend of Gram Hauteclere is available for all to enjoy! If you would like to join me and tour the ruins of Angkor Wat, Athens, or follow in pursuit of Battleship Bismarck the invitation and opportunity is now open! With the first volume released, this author is not resting on his laurels yet as all of the books have been reverse-engineered into scripts that are currently being shopped around. Over the years, Gram Hauteclere has seen many forms including an indie comic series spanning two issues, a role-playing game campaign, and even had a character painted across the hood of a friend's race car so, why not scripts too? Come with me ladies and gentlemen; join me in a land of history and wonder! Yes, I live in a fantasy world but, it’s okay, they know me here!

The Legend of Gram Hauteclere Volume 1: The Prophecy of Clarok: https://www.kmpentertainment.org/Shop-Now.php#!/The-Legend-of-Gram-Hauteclere-Book-One-The-Prophecy-of-Clarok/p/390300934/category=111021431