A WRITING LIFE

Harlan Hague

     Teaching and writing proved a happy combination that was both intellectually stimulating and personally satisfying. I retired from teaching a bit earlier than I had always planned so that I could devote full time to writing and traveling, another happy union. To colleagues and friends who asked why I retired somewhat early, knowing that I enjoyed teaching immensely, I paraphrased Thoreau. I have many lives to live, and I had to be about the next one.

     Principal fields in my scholarly writing were the American West and California. My research and writing on exploration in the West is illustrated in my article on the origins of the southern overland route to California and the Indian role as guides in western exploration. I discuss my fascination with California in an article titled California Dreaming. My concern for the environment is illustrated in my article, Eden Ravished.

    I combine my enthusiasms for writing and travel in freelance travel writing. My travel articles have published in the travel sections of newspapers throughout the United States and in travel magazines. I have put up a number of my travel articles here on my  web site.

   David J. Langum and I collaborated in writing a prize-winning biography of Thomas O. Larkin. An American merchant and United States Consul to Mexican California, Larkin was the chief figure in the American acquisition of California. The paperback and hardback may be purchased online from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble and by order from any bookstore. Read a summary of Larkin's life in my article.

My out-of-print book, Road to California: The Search for a Southern Overland Route, 1540-1848, originally published by The Arthur H. Clark Company, has been reprinted in paperback. The book is the only volume to bring together the story of the search for an overland route to California by Spaniards, Mexicans and Americans. It may be purchased online at Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com and by order at any bookstore.

    My novel, Home to Santa Fé, has been released. This is a star-crossed love story set in the Southwest during the controversial war between the United States and Mexico in the 1840s. John Henry Harris joins the American Army of the West to defend his country against the Mexican invaders, but when he finds no enemies in Santa Fé and falls in love with a daughter of Mexico, he begins to question American motives for the war and to ponder the nature of violence. He is torn between duty and personal values, and he wrestles with questions of cultural difference and bias. Warmed by Morita's love and finding a place in her world, his mind begins to open. John Henry is happy as he has never been, but the idyll ends. He is attached to the army column that carries the conquest westward. During the march, he longs for Morita and vows to return to his brown sweetheart and the little adobe. On the trail, he sinks into melancholy and is racked with debilitating headaches. He is at peace only by recalling Morita and Santa Fé. An idea begins to take shape that would have been unthinkable before Morita. In California, he reluctantly commits himself to a battle that ends in a surrealistic climax.

The book may be purchased online, in both paper and eBook versions, at Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com, and by order at any bookstore.

I have lately turned to writing screenplays and developing ideas for television series. What Californian does not have a screenplay or two in his head, on disk, or making the rounds?

Write to me, and see my web site.

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