Page 62 - BusinessWest November 9, 2020

Author
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nessWest. “It was about the Army, and it covered several decades of one officer’s time. That book really inspired me to write.” Indeed, Hebert’s first forays into writing were non-fiction works about Meyer and his books.
He then embarked on the first installment of his novel, which wound up taking him a decade or so to write and prepare for publication. It includes dozens of illustrations by Tara Kaz that help bring the individual stories to life.
As for those stories, or the elements of his nov- els, he said the process of weaving them together is very much like that of putting together a jigsaw puzzle — which happens to be another of his hobbies; he said he’s put together more than 75 of them, with his favorite (unsurprisingly) being an image of the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington.
“I have tons and tons of research material, and it’s all in pieces,” he went on, adding that, as he read books on history and vocabulary, for exam- ple, he would tear out the pages and keep them for future reference. “I take all those pieces — and we’re talking about an incredible amount of infor- mation — and put it together in a book.”
His second book is 95% researched and about 25% written, he said, adding that this seg- ment details the battles in France during World War I. Book three, meanwhile, covers the period between the wars, and book four will likely take place on a fictional island in the Pacific during World War II.
Hebert writes when he’s not working, which means nights and weekends, and at age 73, he intends to keep on working — for several reasons.
“I work partly because I enjoy working — I
thoroughly enjoy my position here,” he explained. “But also because it enables me to fund the things that I want to do in life — one of which is writing.”
As noted, his first book is off to a decent start, with about 300 copies sold and a far less expen- sive paperback now available. He’s optimistic, and excited, about the audiobook version, which will be read by noted narrator Grover Gardner, who, coincidentally (or not), has also read Once an Eagle.
“My hope, with the audiobook being read by someone so well-known, is that this will bring some attention to it and sell more books in print — that’s my goal, anyway,” he said, adding that this is far more an enjoyable hobby than a mon- ey-making enterprise. “I work to write.”
The Last Word
Hebert’s life has taken a number of twists and turns since his father glanced down at that matchbook cover and eventually handed it to him.
As noted at the top, some of it, including that episode, does sound like fiction, which is appro- priate, said Hebert, because life really does imi- tate art in many ways.
His art certainly does. It’s a collection of tales about people. But it’s also about a business — a family business.
That’s what the Marine Corps became for him — and for those in the Remain family — and it’s a success story on a number of levels. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
Tom Hebert says that weaving a story together for a novel is very much like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
26 NOVEMBER 9, 2020
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