Many people enjoy Lakeview Park, and each one has a unique story. Between the pages, you’ll meet:

• Clarence, who thinks he might have found a winning lottery ticket
• Kuniko, a grandmother and widow who discovers that friendship can bloom anywhere
• Wayne, a former guitarist who rediscovers the joy of music
• Jenny, a mother whose husband is serving in Afghanistan
• Carol, whose journalistic assignment teaches her more than she expects
• Shirley, who discovers that some dreams are worth keeping
• Alex, for whom friendship bridges age differences and soothes a broken heart
• Gloria, who discovers her blessings and makes peace with her past
• Alice, who loves to tell jokes, even though her memory is fading
• Carl, who discovers that reality may hold more promise than long-held fantasy
• Carolina, a ghost searching for her lost child
• Tiffany, a teenager with hopes and dreams
• George, whose life is ebbing, but not his love
• Sheila, a young woman estranged from her family
• Carlos, the groundskeeper who has devoted his career to the park

Lakeview Park is a collection of O. Henry-like slice-of-life stories about the people who frequent a fictitious park. These tales reveal folks of all ages, from a small child to the elderly.

Larry K. Collins won his first literary awards as a student at Alhambra High School in Alhambra, California, when two of his short stories were published in the school’s literary magazine, The Silver Pen. For the most part, his creative writing was put on hold during his career as an engineer. However, he wrote many proposals and the training manual for petrochemical engineering for his company.

Between 1997 and 2001, Larry and his wife, Lorna, worked on the Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka. When they returned, they wrote their memoir of that experience, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, published in 2005. This book was a finalist for the 2006 EPPIE Award for nonfiction ebook of the year and was also chosen as one of Rebeccas Reads best nonfiction books of 2005.

Larry and Lorna collaborated again on two mysteries: Murder… They Wrote, published in 2009, and Murder in Paradise, published in 2011. The latter was a finalist for the 2012 EPIC eBook of the year for mystery. These books are set in Hawaii, requiring frequent trips for research.

When Lorna’s brother passed away in 2020, he left a short outline of a book he wanted to write. When they cleaned out his home, they discovered it and decided to finish it. The book became Dominic Drive.

Larry has always loved science fiction. He began as series of books: The McGregor Chronicles. He has completed nine books in this series.

All of their books are available on Amazon and other online book sources.

After a successful engineering career, Larry is now retired and living in Dana Point, California, where he surfs nearly every day and writes often.

With this collection, he returned to his roots as a short story author.

In addition to their writing, Lorna and Larry are frequent conference speakers and are available to address book clubs and other groups.

Read about our books: 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, Murder… They Wrote, Murder in Paradise, Lakeview Park, The McGregor Chronicles, Snowflake Secrets, Seasons of Love, The Art of Love, An Aspen Grove Christmas, …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe, award-winning Directions of Love, Ghost Writer, Jewel of the Missions: San Juan Capistrano, Lola, the Parrot Who Saved the Mission, The McGregor Chronicles, The Road West, Romance in the Time of Social Distancing, The Memory Keeper, and Dominic Drive at www.lornalarry.com