The Upside: Stamford writer hits his stride at 82
When retired U.S. Army Intelligence Officer Harris Kligman of North Stamford finally decided to pen the tales of espionage and suspense he had collected over 35 years of blended civilian-military life, he poured a decade of work into the project.
“My dad is a very dynamic man who”™s seen a lot and experienced a lot. As a kid I would bug him to give me a little more insight into who he was and what he”™d done,” said his son Rob Kligman. “Through writing, he”™s been able to put a lot of these experiences into words; getting to see sort of how his mind works has been so compelling and interesting to me.”
There”™s no shortage of material, given Harris”™ extensive global travels.
“I was rarely home. I was always on an airplane going someplace,” Harris recalled. “My sphere of influence was primarily the Far East, Africa and South America. I lived in South Korea for more than four years; at one point I was going back and forth from Brazil like a yo-yo.”
During countless hours in the air, Harris would write notes on his travels, his interactions and myriad of characters he met along the way. He also penned children”™s stories for his sons so that during his rare stints at home, their time together would be spent reading and talking about the stories.
When Harris retired to full-time civilian life, he began recalling his experiences, including the many personalities from the military, political entities and business sectors in the many countries he traveled to with the goal of writing a novel. In the end, he wrote 12 and set them aside with no intention of publishing them. That changed with the onset of the Wuhan virus when his son, Rob, thought that it might be a good idea to get several of these published. The novels might give those readers an opportunity to deflect from the concerns of the virus and enjoy a good story.
“When I sat down to write, I was able to see the characters again. The people that I used to do business with, their names slightly changed because of the story and some of the things that I experienced,” he said.
Kligman”™s family would print out his stories at a copy shop, handing them out to their circle of friends to enjoy. But when the pandemic hit last spring, and the Kligman family found themselves home with time on their hands, Rob convinced his dad to publish his work.
“Picture the three of us at a small kitchen table in North Stamford,” Rob said, recalling the months working together as a team. “Mom”™s on one side with her notes, Dad”™s on the other end and me with my computer; literally spending hours going through it and editing together, having dialogue on what word should be used in a particular section.”
Harris Kligman”™s first novel, “The Profession,” appeared on Amazon this past November. His second, “The Shaolin Covenant,” will be out this week, followed by the March release of “Her Father”™s Daughter.”
With a year”™s worth of debuts lined up for 2021, Harris said he”™s just happy his novels can offer readers an entertaining escape during a tough time. Rob said he can”™t put down 2020, given the gift he received from it.
“It was a great year because it brought all of us even closer and we”™ve accomplished something that brought real excitement,” he said. “These are memories that will last me forever. It”™s just been an awesome ride.”