First-ever book signing scheduled on ferry

Taking to the high seas to sign his first book of fiction, "High Tide," author Hal Alpiar will be making waves Thursday, Aug. 29, when he holds what is believed to be the first book signing on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, departing Lewes at 11:15 a.m.

Alpiar said he believes the ferry is a perfect venue to promote the book, based on a fictionalized account of a drug-dealing gangster debacle that occurred in his own life.

From the novel's setting on the Jersey shore to the seafaring adventure involving a boat he owned, the gangsters who paid him to "rent" his boat and the love story involving a fellow scholar, Alpiar said he paralleled the book to events in his own life when he was a college instructor in New Jersey.

The plot gets thicker, he said, when federal agents get involved and a drug deal involving his boat goes bust in the nor'easter.

The storm is actually just the beginning of a chain of events that lead to beheadings in New York City elevators, the bust of a pornography ring, imprisonment for 26 gangsters and hundreds of hash balls washing up on the Jersey shore following the storm, Alpiar said.

The protagonist in High Tide, Dr. Maddigan, is largely based on himself, Alpiar said, but the liberties he could take in fiction allowed for poetic license to dictate the twists and turns of the story without being bound solely to actual events, although most did happen.

Prior to writing his novel, an endeavor that took a full 12 years to come to fruition, Alpiar said he made his living as a writer and instructor in colleges in New York and New Jersey.

Alpiar also works as a marketing and business consultant, largely involved in the business aspects of medical and health care delivery.

As both a writer and a teacher, the author's interest in a variety of subjects and versatility has allowed him to write everything from his National Book Award Winner, "Doctor Shopping" to technical manuals. As an instructor, he taught business and psychology courses.

"High Tide" is currently available at local retailers including Browseabout, Bethany Beach Books and Biblion, where a signing is being scheduled for late September. High Tide is also available on Amazon and at www.hightidenow.com.

To buy tickets for a trip on the ferry and Alpiar's "High Tide" signing Aug. 29, departing Lewes at 11:15 a.m., returning from Cape May at 1 p.m., go to www.capemaylewesferry.com

For more information about Alpiar and his upcoming projects go to his personal blog at www.thewriterworks.com.