My books are about the secret of life. What qualifies me to write about the secret of life? I have been so poor that I had only $6.00 to eat all month, but I have also been wealthy enough to fly by private jet. I have slept on cold, muddy ground without a tent or even a sleeping bag, but I have also slept in the Presidential Suite at the Boston Park Plaza. I have dined with homeless men at a rescue mission, but I have also dined with Presidents, Governors, and even Billy Graham at various formal banquets. But none of that qualifies me to write about the secret of life. Then what does? I have skied in the Alps, gone scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef, and been horseback riding in the Mojave Desert. I have jumped out of airplanes, ridden a bucking bronco, and kayaked through rapids. I have shot not only handguns, rifles, and shotguns – but also machine guns, mortars, heavy artillery, tanks, and even missiles. Once again, none of that qualifies me to write about the secret of life. Then what does? I have been both a minimum wage laborer and a highly paid professional. I have been a soldier, a lawyer, a lobbyist, a diplomat, a homicide investigator, a college instructor, and now an author. I have lived on the West Coast, the East Coast, and the Gulf Coast, and I have even lived on foreign soil. And again, none of that qualifies me to write about the secret of life. So what does? I have stood on the Great Wall of China, viewed Paris from the Eiffel Tower, and ascended the Statue of Liberty in New York. I have climbed Korea’s Mount Sorak, explored the rocky coast of Scotland, and walked the rim of our own Grand Canyon. I have survived earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and blizzards. You guessed it. None of that qualifies me to write about the secret of life, but I assure you that I do know the secret of life. My novel, Archibald Zwick and the Eight Towers, reflects many of the adventures I have had in my own life. But more important, it holds a deeper truth, and that truth is the secret of life. That deeper truth is explained in the non-fiction companion volume, Truth in the Eight Towers. But don’t read the companion volume – or even look it up – until you have read the novel.