About the Author
Although a practicing lawyer for decades, Harmon S. Graves finds time to stray from the grip of his jealous mistress—as most practicing lawyers will concede the practice of law may fairly be called. Apart from his contributions to legal publications, he was inspired by his granddaughters to write an interactive children’s book—text and music, a biography of a popular landscape artist which allows the reader to see many parts of the world through the eyes of an artist, and has now completed the manuscript for his first historical novel.
Mr. Graves was raised in northern Vermont on the shores of Lake Champlain—125 miles of fresh water leading into Quebec, dotted with seventy islands, several of which had historical significance in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
He graduated from the University of Vermont as a distinguished military graduate, and promptly began his career as a U.S. Army Second Lieutenant. He served in the Mountain and Cold Weather Training Command, Camp Hale, Colorado in 1956 and then as a platoon leader in South Korea.
He earned his law degree in 1960 from the University of Denver College of Law following his return to the U.S. and resignation from military service as a First Lieutenant.
Ever since, he has tried lawsuits in courts in many parts of the U.S. and negotiated business transactions in his home state of Colorado and elsewhere. One fascinating endeavor involved a lawsuit against Vatican City based upon a contract to film and tell the story of the Vatican Library. The Library treasures, including its extraordinary illuminated manuscripts, and intricacies of the Holy See were absorbed by him and thoughts of a novel evolved. Dan Brown beat him to it with Angels & Demons (Pocket Books, 2000) and did a magnificent job with his mystery-thriller novel. There was a lesson learned: Use your knowledge, life experiences—matters that you know firsthand—then develop a plot and don’t tarry!
Mr. Graves has brought many of his life experiences to his upcoming novel: military service, powerboating and competitive sailing, courtroom drama, Lake Champlain history, and yes—romance, all bundled in a historical novel ready to be published.
He now lives in Cherry Hills Village, a suburb of Denver, Colorado, with his wife Nada. Both are serious collectors of art of the West, they enjoy classical and jazz music, hiking trails in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and they spend a portion of every summer in Grand Isle, Vermont at the family summer homestead with their two children, three grandchildren, friends, and extended family.