DL Havlin featured in new Oak Ridge Boys book
When Oak Ridge Boy Joseph Bonsall asked local writer DL Havlin to write one of the stories in the “Christmas Cookies Mysteries,” a multi-authored book based on the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Cookies Album, he happily agreed.
“He read one of my books, called, ‘A Place No One Should Go,’ and he liked it, so he talked to the agents, and they asked if I would write a story,” Havlin said.
Each one of the book’s mysteries corresponds to a song on the Christmas Cookies album. “Aunt Elvira’s Jewels,” the story Havlin wrote for the anthology, is based on the song “Hay Baby.” He said he used the title based on the Oak Ridge Boys hit song “Elvira,” because it paired well with the idea he had for the mystery.
“It’s a story about how she is getting close to the end of her life and leaves her worldly goods to be distributed at a Christmas dinner after her death,” Havlin said.
One of the fun challenges in his story, Havlin explained, was the character development in having to match clues to the recipients of “Aunt Elvira’s Jewels.” He said it took approximately two weeks to write the story, which coincided with a story idea he had for some time.
In his estimation, readers are thinkers, with open minds and open books, which is why his books, he said, are addressed to the thinking person. Havlin, who was raised in Fort Myers, has been on Pine Island for 40 years. He got his start as an author with a book of short stories, which his children asked him to write, documenting some of his experiences, he said.
“I wrote some of the stories, and gave it to a neighbor, who showed them to an editor, which ended with me writing a book of short stories. I decided I liked writing and kept going from there,” Havlin said.
This book, he said, was designed to keep the spirit of Christmas alive with a mysterious bent. Our traditions, he feels, give us a sense of being.
Keeping with his tradition of introducing his new books locally first, Havlin will be at Matlacha Menagerie, Pine Island, Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.,to do his first book signing and meet and greet for “Christmas Cookies Mysteries.”
For more info go to www.dlhavlin.com.