Iron Cross, Iron Curtain, Iron Will is a biographical novel that tells the story of Miklos, born in the village of Csekut, Hungary, at the outbreak of World War II. The tale chronicles his family's struggles to survive the German occupation and the rise of Hungarian Fascism through the Arrow Cross Party, the ensuing anti-Semitism, and their eventual isolation behind the Iron Curtain. Not long before Miklos' home becomes occupied by German officers, Jewish friends and their families arrive, seeking refuge from the sweeps taking place in Budapest. With military patrols arriving in the village soon after, the families are smuggled out to avoid discovery. The village must adapt to war and occupation, struggling through the hardship brought by conflict. Eventually the German army must retreat, driven out by the Soviet military. The would-be liberators remain to occupy Eastern Europe, bringing the peoples of the region under hard-line Communist rule. Years later, citizens rise up against the occupiers, weary from their living conditions and lack of freedom. Miklos enlists help from friends at university, the young men embarking on a delivery of supplies to aid people cutoff by the fighting, only to become unwitting accomplices to the revolution, caught up in the battle for Budapest. Surviving, Miklos returns home with his friend and neighbor to discover that the authorities are aware of their involvement, seeking their arrest. As wanted men they have no choice but to make a hasty escape west across the border.
Originally from Virginia, I moved to Florida in High School, eventually settling in South Florida. It is here I now reside, enjoying the climate and marine activities provided by the subtropical location. A software engineer by training, I have always been an avid reader, and always wanted to try my hand at writing. For years people had urged my father to put his story to the written word, but he just never seemed to find the time. Given his incredible journey through the turmoil of mid-twentieth century eastern Europe, and his eventual flight to the United States, I decided to chronicle his early life as my first novel. His experiences certainly provided ample material to weave an amazing story.
