Longtime Bothell resident Leonard David Goodisman said he has written short stories, plays and even novels.
“I’ve just been writing all my life,” he added.
While he’s shared his work with friends, none of it has been published commercially.
Until now.
Currently a math professor at Cascadia Community College by day, Goodisman said he spent about six months penning “Detective A: The Case of the Missing Silver Spoon,” a short mystery aimed at children 6 to 12.
There are two or three other adventures of Detective A written, but not yet published. Goodisman said he intends the “Detective A” stories to be different from other juvenile mysteries in a number of ways.
While he said he’s been writing for years, Goodisman spent most of his adult life in the computer field. Perhaps in keeping with that background in sciences, each “Detective A” book features some science problem or principle the hero has to learn or figure out in order to solve the mystery.
In the case at hand, the finding the missing silver spoon means noticing and taking into account that mirrors show things backwards.
Goodisman added that, quite deliberately, as he’s solving his various mysteries, both scientific and otherwise, Detective A doesn’t have the help of any super powers. He’s not incredibly smart for his age. In fact, Detective A is just an ordinary 8-year-old. Besides dealing with science, Goodisman’s hero also has to learn social interactions, such as dealing with lies told him in the “Silver Spoon” story.
“In this case, he has to learn how to better communicate with his peers,” Goodisman said. “I wanted to show kids as kids, in the sense that they are not young adults.”
By the way, how did Goodisman come up with the name “Detective A?” He admits the “A” part comes from his grandson, Alex.
“Kids always go through a phase where they want to change their names and make them a little more jazzy,” Goodisman added, explaining why he decided to use just an initial for his hero’s monicker.
“Detective A” was published by Bothell’s Book Publisher’s Network, and is listed on Amazon.com.
Goodisman also has his own Web site, www.goodisman.com.
Avian adventurers
Husband-and-wife writing and photography team Craig and Joy Johnson have completed their third book on bird watching, “Our Puget Sound: Birds and Habitats.”
At 96 pages long, the book is filled with colorful, up-close photos of birds from the water-loving auklet (who is closely related to the puffin, by the way) to the shoreline-hugging common yellowthroat.
Now living on Whidbey Island, Joy Johnson grew up in Kenmore and is a graduate of Inglemoor High. Her interest in birds apparently goes back a while. She remembers asking her mother about a certain bird she used to hear around the shores of Lake Washington.
“I didn’t know what they were, of course,” Joy said. “Now, I can tell you they were red-winged blackbirds.”
A professional illustrator/artist, husband Craig does the photography and layout for the Johnsons’ books, while Joy handles the research and the informative notes that accompany many of the photographs.
Joy added she and her husband never really intended to get into writing and creating bird books.
“The books are just mostly a labor of love,” she said.
Not a trained photographer, initially, Craig started taking some quick snapshots of the birds visiting the Johnsons’ back yard, at that time in Edmonds. Probably predictably, said yard was filled with bird feeders and bird baths. The couple began blowing up Craig’s photos on their computer to help in identifying what birds were paying them visits. Eventually, the idea of the books just sort of evolved.
“We really didn’t know what to expect,” Joy said, but adding she considers the self-published books a success, with about 4,000 having been sold so far.
Putting together the third book took about a year, Joy said. The pair used almost all new pictures rather than reprinting the previous books. They also added a map and an index showing where the pictures were taken and where the different feathered species on display can be found.
