Larry Hermann

Dancing with the Colours Larry Hermann

As a young child, I became interested in stained glass through the grandmother of my sister's husband. I have always been a 'church' person - playing organ as a substitute, taking photos - because it's fun. When I went to college [at Iowa State University for my undergraduate work] I minored in Science Journalism so it honed my skills at writing. Once out of school, I also wrote for church newsletters depending upon where I was attending church. At the suggestion of a friend, I began to write "Dancing with the Colours" because it fed my need for a better knowledge of English history. It also fed my need to write about my family genealogy in England and how it followed us through the country and to the United States. In the process, I made over a dozen trips to Gloucester, England to visit the Cathedral. I love the history of this old church. The novel is historical fiction where what happened to Gloucester Cathedral was true but the person story was fictitious and is designed for children 10 - 12 years of age. What a better way through this story could I tell the history of this old historic building? I also took a course in stained glass window-making to better understand what went into the process.