About Randall Howlett
Randall is a 69-year-old retired and divorced American who has been living in Bangkok for the last ten years enjoying the life as an expat. Prior to that, he worked in middle management for a major insurance company for about 20 years after doing a stint as a Captain in the US Marine Corps for six years. He has a BA in Psychology from Mesa State College, an MA in Business Administration from National University in San Diego and an MBA in Finance/ Real Estate from the University of Denver. Randall had taken up writing books several years ago, focusing mostly on historical nonfiction.
Both Randall and co-author Deb graduated from the same class of 1971 at Battle Mountain High School, located in Colorado’s high country.
BOOKS:
Wildflowers Never Die: The CIA and Memories of the Cold War (2023)
Stories of a Lifetime: A Collection of Fascinating True Tales (2021)
Taking the High Road: Leadville to Vail in 100 Years (2020)
Biggest literary influences:
Michael Shaara (Killer Angels), Stephen Ambrose (Band of Brothers) and Ken Burns (documentary, The Civil War).
The book that had a significant impact on your life:
No particular book or literary character changed my life but I do admire writers and documentary filmmakers who can bring history alive, to make it seem like you’re experiencing the same times and events as the characters in the narrative. This was their lives back then and was their “today” as much as the present day is ours. To me, that’s what makes history very interesting.
Currently working on:
I’m currently working on a book titled What Almost Was: China’s Flirtation With Democracy. It deals with China’s struggle to escape from communism and autocratic system over the past 75 years.
Advice for aspiring authors:
My advice to aspiring writers is to follow your passion. If it’s not compelling fictional stories but rather historical nonfiction, then try to make it an interesting read rather than a dry recitation of dates and events. Bring it to life, with “creative” nonfiction stories, and using dialogue, interesting real characters and actual quotations. That’s what I’m attempting to do and trying to continually perfect that art with every book that I write.