Author Paul Hillman
Author Paul Hillman loves to read books. His first love was mystery and adventure books, like the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Tom Swift. Tom Swift was significant because the blend of science fiction, adventure, and mystery set the stage for Paul’s library for decades. Later, he discovered epic fantasy stories like Tolkien’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, and the works of Raymond Feist, David Eddings, and Melanie Rawn.
Then came Clive Cussler, H. G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, John E Stith, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, and many others. The combination of mystery, history, adventure, science fiction, and exploration of personal endeavor blended into a fascination with how the world works – and doesn’t work. Questions like; what makes some people successful and others fail; who wins the fair damsel; who solves the case etc., led Paul to try and understand how life works. The karma of it, the zeitgeist. The simple, appealing grandeur of living life to its fullest.
After a lifetime of trying to do that – living to the fullest – Paul realized that while he wasn’t rich, didn’t win the homecoming game, and will never be a national hero, he has been hugely successful in living the life he was given. A wonderful wife, seven incredible children, all adults now, twelve fascinating grandchildren, a business that feeds him, a comfortable house, an endless sense of wonder, and the simple majesty of living are all signs of a sort of success anyway.
So, given a rich blend of romance, wanderlust, business experience, many failures, and a few winners, Paul brings a broad understanding of the world – its reality as well as its possibilities to his writing. He also loves the surprises, the coincidences, the illogical events that throw everyone a curve – they are as much a part of living as anything planned. And through it all, the persistent effort to do what is right, no matter the cost, and the understanding to do what Walt Disney said – keep moving forward. Take your lumps, accept your successes graciously, and be thankful for everything, even your enemies, as they force you to grow. Just keep trying every day.
The Charlie Smythington Mystery Series is a blend of Paul’s misspent youth, business acumen, and constant effort to help people and their businesses. Charlie is fascinated with life and hasn’t seen too much of it at twenty-four. But he’s a quick learner and pays attention to people who know more – personally and professionally. So, having billionaire business owner MT Day as a mentor is better than Charlie could hope. When you combine that with Steven Gadweils, Sonja’s father, a business consultant and venture capitalist, Charlie has a wealth of knowledge and experience available and uses it to grow his insurance business rapidly and live life to the maximum.
He wrote two books, Mind Control and A phone to Kill For.
Charlie Smythington Mysteries provide Paul with a way to relive experiences and have adventures in life. More are on the way – so stay tuned.
