Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Flying Blind
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1944?
WEBSITE: http://flyingblindnovel.com/
CITY: Sarasota
STATE: FL
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
http://flyingblindnovel.com/blog-2/; https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardhammerman; married with two sons and three grandchildren.
RESEARCHER NOTES: N/A
PERSONAL
Born c. 1944; married; wife’s name Helen; children: two sons.
EDUCATION:Antioch University, B.A., 1966; University of Michigan, Ph.D., 1972.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, novelist, and business intelligence consultant. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, assistant professor, 1972-76; Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC, housing analyst, 1977-1986; Harmmerman Associates, Inc., Sarasota, FL, president, 1989–.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Howard Hammerman grew up on a farm in Highstown, New Jersey. He is a business consultant and has worked with a variety of industries providing business intelligence solutions based on a company’s data and statistics. Hammerman had a longtime interest in writing and renewed that interest, resulting in his debut novel, Flying Blind. The novel’s story grew partially out of Hammerman’s love of flying, which dates back to when he was six years old and went to the New Jersey State Fair with his family. At the fair, Hammerman and his father flew in a bi-plane. From that point on, Hammerman wanted to become a pilot but did not get his pilot license and an airplane until his consulting business made it feasible for him to afford one.
When Hammerman started writing Flying Blind he joined a writing group that met twice monthly and provided Hammerman with important feedback on his novel in progress. In an interview for the Interviews with Writers website, Harmmerman commented on what inspires him to write, noting: “Everyone has a story. I find it fascinating to learn how each person finds a way to exist and attempt to make a difference in the world.” Hammerman went on in the interview to remark that most of his characters come to him in his dreams, which often leads to him getting up in the middle of the night to jot down his dream. On the novel’s website, Hammerman writes that Flying Blind is a novel that encompasses action-adventure, romance, and tragedy in a story featuring a man who wants to do what is right but is unwilling to give up a hobby that he loves but is unable to afford.
Flying Blind is a thriller that Readers’ Favorite website contributor Rabia Tanveer called “entertaining and surprisingly complex,” adding that Hammerman’s debut “is an action-packed novel that I did not want to put down.” The novel revolves around Dan Goldberg, a man whose luck seems to have turned bad. When he loses his job, Dan’s wife thinks he should sell his beloved 30-year-old, single-engine, Cessna airplane. Dan is crushed about the thought of getting rid of his plane and takes on extra work teaching monthly statistics classes in Washington, DC. Then a Jamaican cab driver named Richard approaches him and offers Dan $200,000 to fly him from the Washington, DC area to New Jersey to deliver a package. Dan immediately senses that the job is likely illegal, but he needs some quick cash if he is to keep his plane.
First, Richard has Dan fly him to New Jersey. Dan ends up landing the plane on a street and damaging his Cessna. Meanwhile, Dan was right to be suspicious as the package was going to be a shipment of cocaine. When the deal goes wrong, Dan finds himself with a substantial amount of drugs and money. He is at a lost as to what to do but knows that his life is likely in jeopardy as he has landed himself in the middle of a drug war. Then Dan meets Maria Sanchez, a sexy Latin businesswoman who actually turns out to be a call girl. Maria and Dan, whose marriage was already in trouble because his wife rightfully thinks he loves his Cessna more than her, embark on a wild sexual affair.
“Dan …suffers plenty of guilt and punishment for turning his back on his wife and family,” noted a Publishers Weekly contributor. An OnlineBookClub.org contributor wrote: Flying Blind “is incredibly fun and realistic. The process of how Dan gets sucked into the unsavory situation is very believable,” adding later: “The book flows at a nice pace and has plenty of action.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, October 2, 2017, review of Flying Blind, p. 120.
ONLINE
Flying Blind Website, http://flyingblindnovel.com/ (March 27, 2018).
Interview with Writers, http://interviewswithwriters.com/ (March 27, 2018), “Interview with Author–Howard Hammerman.”
OnlineBookClub.org, https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/ (February 25, 2018), review of Flying Blind.
Readers’ Favorite, https://readersfavorite.com/ (December 5, 2017), Rabia Tanveer, review of Flying Blind.
President (title) at Hammerman Associates, Inc.
Former Professor at Cornell University
Studied Human ecology at University of Michigan
Studied Sociology and Writing at Antioch College
Went to Hightstown High School
Lives in Sarasota, Florida
Married
From Hightstown, New Jersey
Manages Flying Blind Novel and Hammerman Associates, Inc.
Independent Business Intelligence Consultant, Novelist, Author of Flying Blind
Hammerman Associates University of Michigan
Sarasota, Florida 500+ 500+ connections
Connect Connect with Howard Hammerman More actions
I have worked as an independent consultant to a variety of industries since 1989 providing business intelligence solutions using Crystal Reports, R&R Report Writer, FoxPro and other tools. Since 200...
Show more Show more of Howard’s summary
Follow Follow
Howard’s Articles
619 followers
Create a report combining historical and current reservation data
Howard Hammerman on LinkedIn
Publish date July 11, 2017
July 11, 2017
See all articles
Create Reports Using Current & Historical Data
Howard Hammerman on LinkedIn
Publish date July 11, 2017
July 11, 2017
Experience
Hammerman Associates
Independent Hospitality Database Reporting Expert
Company NameHammerman Associates
Dates EmployedJun 2001 – Present Employment Duration16 yrs 10 mos
LocationOn-line
I am the leading expert at providing customized reporting services to hotels that use the Par-Springer-Miller HOST property management software. I have developed OCCTRCK a data warehouse for HOST data and allows users to get the reports they want quickly and accurately. It is the basis for accurate revenue and occupancy forecasts using R&R. I also created ONECLICK, a utility to rapidly produce Excel spreadsheets from HOST
Hammerman Associates, Inc.
President
Company NameHammerman Associates, Inc.
Dates EmployedMar 1989 – Present Employment Duration29 yrs 1 mo
Dr. Hammerman is an expert at turning data into information. He is adept at Crystal Reports, R&R Report Writer and various statistical packages. Since 2001 he has worked extensive in the Hotel and Resort industry. He conducts on-line and on-site training sessions several times a year.
Self-employed
President
Company NameSelf-employed
Dates EmployedMar 1989 – Present Employment Duration29 yrs 1 mo
LocationSarasota, Florida Area
Business Objects/SAP
Independent Consultant
Company NameBusiness Objects/SAP
Dates EmployedJan 1997 – Nov 2012 Employment Duration15 yrs 11 mos
I provide Crystal Reports Consulting and Training. I have written training manuals for Crystal Versions 8.5, 9/10, 11, 2008 both intro and advanced. I have worked with numerous companies in many industries from hospitals to prisons, from manufactures to universities. I have a gift for integrating data from many different sources and turning data into information.
Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Housing Analyst
Company NameDept. of Housing and Urban Development
Dates EmployedJul 1977 – Apr 1986 Employment Duration8 yrs 10 mos
Analyzed housing data from existing and experimental housing projects. Wrote position papers. Provided the groundwork for a new housing program. Wrote RFPs. Managed $500,000 worth of contracted research.
Show more
Education
University of Michigan
University of Michigan
Degree NamePh.D. Field Of StudySociology
Dates attended or expected graduation 1967 – 1972
Won several grants and awards for independent reserach on housing and urban planning.
Antioch University
Antioch University
Degree NameBA Field Of StudySociology
Dates attended or expected graduation 1961 – 1966
Activities and Societies: I created a publication called "Antioch Scholastic Journal" that published students' term papers. I also worked on the newspaper and the radio station. I participated in folk dancing.
I had an excellent education focused on Sociology and writing. I had eight co-op jobs ranging from "copy boy" at the Toledo Blade to orderly at a New York City hospital, to civil rights worker in Mississippi. In addition I participated as a research assistant with the early work with autistic children. I worked with Drs. Lovas and Metz.
Volunteer Experience
Sarasota Film Festival
Volunteer
Company NameSarasota Film Festival
Dates volunteeredApr 2015 – Apr 2015 Volunteer duration1 mo
Cause Arts and Culture
I helped out in a number of ways.
Interview with Author – Howard Hammerman
By Interviews With Writers Leave a Comment
Author Bio:
Howard Hammerman grew up on a farm not far from New York City. His love of flying started, when, as a youngster, his father bought him a 15-minute ride on a bi-plane. Many years later he became a private pilot (instrument rated) and owned his own Cessna Cardinal. His fascination with people and the choices they make in their lives started in college Sociology courses. He taught college then became an analyst with the US government hoping to make a difference in the world.
He has been a freelance statistical consultant since 1990. Howard, his artist-wife Helen and their dog traveled the country for several years in their motor home before settling in Sarasota, Florida, where they enjoy the support for creative arts of all types.
What inspires you to write?
Everyone has a story. I find it fascinating to learn how each person finds a way to exist and attempt to make a difference in the world.
Tell us about your writing process.
I'm a seat of the pants writer who is trying to learn how to outline. I'm new to writing fiction. I started college determined to be a journalist then got side-tracked.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters come to me in my dreams. Most of my good work happens at 3am when they wake me up and tell me to write their stories.
Who are your favorite authors?
Earnest Hemmingway, Jack Kerouac, Stephen King (some of his work), Graham Greene, Erica Jong, Ursula K. Le Guin, John Grisham, John McDonald, William Shakespeare,
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I had to do it.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think it is great that authors can self-publish. I feel bad for independent book stores. I hope they can make it.
What genres do you write?
Thriller
What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print
I always wanted to fly. It started when I was about six years old, and my family went to the New Jersey State fair. I went up with my dad in a bi-plane for about ten minutes. That was enough, and I decided to become a pilot.
When I was finishing college, the armed forces were recruiting young men to fly missions in Viet Nam. I wanted to fly but I didn’t approve of the war. I went on to graduate school, but kept my dream.
I earned my doctorate and taught at Cornell University. After five years, I came to Washington, and took a job at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. I quit during the second Regan administration and started a consulting company.
That provided the financial means to get my pilot’s license and then an airplane.
The airplane cost way more than I thought it would. My wife was getting very angry. I was offered a lot of money to fly drugs. I declined and sold the plane just before the tragedy at the World Trade Center.
My wife and I have lived in Sarasota, FL since 2011. We have two grown sons and three grandchildren.
Print Marked Items
Flying Blind
Publishers Weekly.
264.40 (Oct. 2, 2017): p120.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Flying Blind
Howard Hammerman. Bold Venture, $14.95
trade paper (212p) ISBN 978-1-54892657-1
At the start of Hammerman's middling debut, a Jamaican cab driver named Richard offers teacher Dan
Goldberg, who owns a 30-year-old single-engine plane he can scarcely afford, $200,000 to fly from the D.C.
area to Miami, Fla., and return on what is clearly a drug run. Dan, who has a shaky marriage, an unstable
job, two young daughters, and mounting expenses, accepts, but first Richard has Dan fly him to New Jersey,
where they land on a city street, damaging the plane. More trouble ensues, and Dan ends up with bags full
of drugs and money and no idea what to do. Later, he gets together with Maria Sanchez, a beautiful
businesswoman, who introduces him to wild sex ("My lust, a persistent ember during the previous two days,
erupted into flame"), and to a couple of shady characters, who ensure that Dan has little hope of ever
resuming his former life. It's all a bad dream for Dan, who suffers plenty of guilt and punishment for turning
his back on his wife and family. Unfortunately, this noirish exercise is also as insubstantial as a dream.
(Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Flying Blind." Publishers Weekly, 2 Oct. 2017, p. 120. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A509728436/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ec26db43.
Accessed 5 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A509728436
BOOK REVIEW
Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite
Flying Blind by Howard Hammerman is the story of a man who is down on his luck, only to find out that his luck is going to get worse. The novel follows the story of Dan Goldberg. He hasn’t had the best of luck recently; he lost his job and now his wife is asking him to sell his one true love: his Cessna. His little airplane is his life and there is nothing that he would not do to keep it. His whole life changes when he is approached by a man to fly his beloved Cessna all the way to New Jersey.
He is approached by a Jamaican man who gives him a whole wad of cash ... just to deliver a package to New Jersey. Dan’s instinct was telling him that something seemed fishy, but his need for cash made him agree to this quick dash. He meets with a sexy woman named Maria, who turns out to be a call girl, and his trip is a drug drop off. Soon his trip to New Jersey is turning out to be the worst decision he ever made. He deeply regrets it, but he has no way out now. What can he do? Can he save himself in time?
Entertaining and surprisingly complex, Flying Blind is an action-packed novel that I did not want to put down. I loved Dan’s development and how he simply grew from a man who was desperate and naïve to a man who was desperate but ready to fight and conquer. Maria was such a complex character and I liked how she changed the flow of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this simply amazing and entertaining novel.
Official Review: Flying Blind by Howard Hammerman
Quote
Post by RebeccasReading » 24 Feb 2018, 11:41
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Flying Blind" by Howard Hammerman.]
Book Cover
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
A tale of adventure-seeking gone awry!
Flying Blind by Howard Hammerman is a thrilling story of how an average man can quickly find himself in a world of trouble. We’ve all heard of the mid-life crisis. It usually means buying a flashy new car or finding an attractive younger girlfriend. For Dan Goldberg in Flying Blind, a mid-life crisis also meant getting pulled into a dangerous criminal enterprise!
Dan is a married father of two looking for some more adventure in his life. At first he turns to his “mistress”, AKA his small private plane. Flying his plane brings him the adventure he seeks but it also has put his family in serious financial trouble. When a friendly cab driver offers Dan a huge sum of money for a quick flight, Dan eagerly agrees. Unfortunately for Dan, the cab driver was not nearly as nice as he first appeared. Dan finds himself in an increasingly alarming situation and becomes an unwitting key player in a violent drug war. He’s torn between the adrenaline rush of the danger and the fear of losing everything. Things continue to spiral out of control until Dan realizes that he can’t outrun (or outfly) his problems anymore.
This book is incredibly fun and realistic. The process of how Dan gets sucked into the unsavory situation is very believable. He’s desperate for a way to pull his family out of impending financial ruin. This forces him to go into business with a man he barely knows. The situation escalates very quickly and suddenly Dan is in way over his head. The book flows at a nice pace and has plenty of action. Once I started reading Flying Blind, I had a hard time putting it down. I found this book particularly interesting because much of the action takes place in small towns in South Jersey, which is where I live. There were frequent references to nearby locations, such as Ocean City and the Atlantic City Airport. This made the story a lot more fun for me.
While I enjoyed the action, the characters in this book were not very appealing. The main character becomes increasingly less likeable as the story progresses. He begins the book as a committed husband and loving father. Within a few days he’s suddenly willing to completely abandon his family for an attractive woman he’s only known for a few days. Dan shows very little guilt or sadness when he realizes he probably will never see his family again. I found Dan’s emotional depth to be very limited.
Another issue I had was the author’s use of several very explicit sex scenes. There were times when I had to question if I was reading an erotic novel instead of a crime thriller. There was one scene in particular that was somewhat disturbing in its content. The characters engaged in a sexual activity that could never be classified as “mainstream” but neither of them ever commented on how strange it was. I found it very jarring and had difficulty getting back into the story afterwards.
The one thing I really appreciated about this book was the ending. Unlike many other books in this genre, there was no miraculous last second save where everyone was able to turn out just fine. The characters had to face serious consequences for their unlawful actions. It was very refreshing to read a realistic ending.
While reading this book, I didn’t notice any typos or grammatical errors. It was professionally edited. Overall, it was a very entertaining read. I really enjoyed Flying Blind. Due to the issues I mentioned, I have to give this book a 3 out of 4 review.
******