Welcome to Larry Andrews' website.

Greetings and welcome to my blog spot.

I've written two novels since my retirement in 2008. The first is a romance, Songs of Sadness, Songs of Love. The second is an action/mysteryThe China-Africa Parallax: A Ryan and Gillian Mystery.

Among the textbooks I have written areLinguistics for L2 Teachers, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 2001; and Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, 3rd edition, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 2006. This textbook was translated into Korean by Pagijong Press, Seoul, South Korea. 2010.

I am presently writing my third Ryan and Gillian novel, The Nathan Culper Brotherhood. You can follow my progress on novel #3 here at this blog site.

To order any of my titles please go either to nook.com or amazon.com (Kindle users can go to the Kindle Store.).

Sunday, August 21, 2011

My nomination for a speaker at the Kardashian wedding, reception, and after parties.


Disability Gave Kneeshaw AdvantagesPDFPrintE-mail
 By DANIEL VANCE , Atlantic heights Newspaper  
SATURDAY, 20 AUGUST 2011
danvance_120I have never featured anyone quite like 63-year-old Rick Kneeshaw. He acquired polio at age 3 and post-polio syndrome about age 36. The National Institutes of Health describes post-polio syndrome as a condition affecting polio survivors "years after recovery from an initial acute attack of the poliomyelitis virus. It can cause weakening in affected and non-affected muscles, muscle atrophy, fatigue, and joint degeneration pain."
Said Kneeshaw in a telephone interview, "By age 16, I had spent over four years total in Shriners Hospital for 12 different orthopedic operations. I have positive recollections of being in the hospital and marked my childhood by the various hospital stays that averaged between three and nine months."
The hospital offered a basic school education up to eighth grade. At 16, he began working towards an engineering degree at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in order to become an electronics engineer. Although having missed much of high school math because of hospitalizations, he still was able through sheer determination to pass his courses and graduate.
He said, "And if I had my life to live over again, I would remain disabled. Lots of good has come from it. For example, in 1953 I was a (polio) poster child and over the next 30 years I did hundreds of talks for the Shriners and Rotary (about polio). Through it, I learned how to do public speaking and used that skill to advance my career. I went from being a junior engineer at work to being a company director selling $25 million material handling systems. I got to travel all over the world and use my public speaking skills to earn a good living."
He attributed his being more self-aware, his ability to focus on college school work, and his current self-confidence to having had polio.
"Most polio survivors are over-achievers who want to do all they can for others," he said. "In general, they are good communicators because in order to survive you had to ask for help and get others to do things for you that you couldn't."
Kneeshaw has been completely paralyzed in his left leg, hip, and left side of back since age 3. To get around, he uses a combination of crutches, long-leg brace, power wheelchair, cane, and scooter. He has a completely accessible home and garden, and regularly enjoys woodworking.

Monday, August 15, 2011

What do Kim Kardashian and Warren Buffet have in common?

I don't believe either one has read one of my novels!  Just find a shade tree, select a comfy lawn chair, prepare a pot of tea (iced if your guests prefer), and then read . . . 


1. SONGS OF SADNESS, SONGS OF LOVE, by Larry K. Andrews. (Mystery-Romance) This is the story of Ryan Graves, a young boy growing up. Not only does he have the usual fears of adolescence, but a physical disability causes him even greater agony and heightened fears and of being rejected by his peers. The reader watches this young man as he goes through middle school, high school, and the university with new emotional challenges at each level. This is a study about how people respond to challenging experiences in their lives; some people are overwhelmed and defeated by their challenges while others accept and accommodate them, moving onwards to successful adulthood.

2. THE CHINA-AFRICA PARALLAX: A RYAN AND GILLIAN MYSTERY, by Larry K. Andrews. (Action-Thriller) The China-Africa Parallax: A Ryan and Gillian Mystery describes how representatives of China and Africa are conspiring to steal research data from major US universities. They will kill anyone who gets in their way in order to achieve their ultimate goal: China’s economic and military domination of the world. This is a fast-moving mystery with an emphasis on today’s geo-political issues and economics. Ryan Graves and his wife, Gillian Davies, characters introduced in Songs of Sadness, Songs of Love, assume perilous, key roles central to the FBI strategy to thwart the devastating conspiracy.


Hardback and paperback editions are available at amazon.com; enter the title in the search box.
Or, order e-books direct from nook.com or the Kindle Store.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Keep reading and writing free in a struggling economy

When I use the phrase "keep reading and writing free," I'm NOT talking about a monetary issue. I mean keep what we read about and what we write about free from censorship imposed by sponsors of privatized institutions. The US Congress, especially those Republicans controlled by Tea Baggers, see the privatization and corporatization of education as one way to get the US economy back on track.  Wrong!

Our public educational systems must be free from the dictates of sponsors, the wealthy and any other special interest group. Public schools, K - Graduate, exist to educate, not train.




Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Danicka Patrick and Helen Mirren like to read. Plese join them and get these two books.


Just find a shade tree, select a comfy lawn chair, prepare a pot of tea (iced if your guests prefer), and then read . . . 


1. SONGS OF SADNESS, SONGS OF LOVE, by Larry K. Andrews. (Mystery-Romance) This is the story of Ryan Graves, a young boy growing up. Not only does he have the usual fears of adolescence, but a physical disability causes him even greater agony and heightened fears and of being rejected by his peers. The reader watches this young man as he goes through middle school, high school, and the university with new emotional challenges at each level. This is a study about how people respond to challenging experiences in their lives; some people are overwhelmed and defeated by their challenges while others accept and accommodate them, moving onwards to successful adulthood.

2. THE CHINA-AFRICA PARALLAX: A RYAN AND GILLIAN MYSTERY, by Larry K. Andrews. (Action-Thriller) The China-Africa Parallax: A Ryan and Gillian Mystery describes how representatives of China and Africa are conspiring to steal research data from major US universities. They will kill anyone who gets in their way in order to achieve their ultimate goal: China’s economic and military domination of the world. This is a fast-moving mystery with an emphasis on today’s geo-political issues and economics. Ryan Graves and his wife, Gillian Davies, characters introduced in Songs of Sadness, Songs of Love, assume perilous, key roles central to the FBI strategy to thwart the devastating conspiracy.


Available at amazon.com; enter the title in the search box.
Or, order e-books direct from the Kindle Store.