About this item
Danny Parker, a pilot wounded in the Great War, returns home to Long Beach, California, in 1919 hoping to reconcile with his former girlfriend, Joyce Villareal, who is now a silent movie star. But Joyce has disappeared. Danny and Joyce were best friends since first grade. As juniors in high school their friendship became romantic. But just before graduation, Danny surprised Joyce by announcing he planned to study for the priesthood. Angry and hurt, she broke up with him and moved to Hollywood to become an actress at Paramount. Three years later, he left the seminary and enlisted in the Marines, eventually becoming one of the first Marine aviators. He crashes in France and barely survives a horrendous battle. Finally home in Long Beach, he has no desire to return to the seminary or the service.
About the Author
Don Westenhaver planned to become a Catholic priest, but left the seminary and joined the Marine Corps. The Marines trained him to be a Vietnamese interpreter, but then assigned him to be a platoon radioman near the DMZ. After the war, as a finance executive in the oil industry, Don traveled frequently to Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. His military and oil business experiences inspired him to write his first novel, an international thriller titled The Whiplash Hypothesis.
During the 1990s, Don became fascinated by the Asian Tigers, a group of former Third World countries such as Korea that were emerging into First World status. Inhabitants of very poor nations were suddenly enjoying huge improvements in their standard of living. He speculated that a relatively small amount of money could propel Vietnam into the same growth, because its culture prizes education and hard work. It would require only an intelligent plan encouraged by a Communist minister who was secretly a capitalist. The result of this was Don's second international thriller, The Red Turtle Project.
During a vacation in Italy Don visited the ruins of Pompeii, which display in such vivid detail the lives of ordinary people 2,000 years ago, and how the Romans were so similar to us and so technologically advanced. For the next four years, he studied ancient Rome and created characters and a plot that begins with the Great Fire of Rome. The plot of Nero's Concert illustrates Nero's descent into madness as told by his best friend. The backdrop is the Fire, the search for those who caused it, and the collision of the new Christian religion with Roman culture.
Don's fourth novel, Alexander's Lighthouse, takes place in 92 AD in Alexandria Egypt, which was then the unchallenged pinnacle of Western intellectual achievement. A melting pot of Egyptians, Greeks, Jews, and Romans, it frequently boiled over into violence. The story follows Marco, a young man studying at the city's famous Museum and Library. He joins a team of brilliant engineers who invent the most powerful weapon in the world for the Romans. When the Free Egypt rebels steal the weapon Marco finds himself caught between the Romans and the rebel forces who threaten to overthrow the hated Roman occupiers.
The latest novel, Missing Star, takes place in Long Beach, California in 1919. Danny Parker, a pilot wounded in the Great War, returns home hoping to reconcile with his former girlfriend, who is now a silent movie star. But Joyce has disappeared. As Danny searches for Joyce, clues lead him to an aviation pioneer, a corrupt police department, a big tent evangelist, and a former circus showman.
Don has been married to his wife Ellie for over 40 years and they live in Southern California. They have two grown daughters and two grandchildren. Don and Ellie are retired and spend their time traveling, assisting four differe
