About the Author

Born and raised in New England, Dick Durland’s work can best be described as “putting his passions to paper”. His initial book, “Halloween – Life of the Party” was featured in the 2023 ‘Printers Row Lit Fest’ in Chicago, IL and documented his obsession with hosting an annual highly customized, All Hallows Eve extravaganza at his residence.

His most recent book, “Winning the Day – Saving Baseball”, was released in 2024 and chronicles his son’s improbable rise through the baseball ranks from T-ball through college, while also ensuring readers are compelled to acknowledge the underlying reasons behind the current demise of ‘America’s favorite pastime’.

Current projects include “Finding Normal”. This latest effort is being written in response to what he believes is the ‘shockingly accelerated’ evolution of the world around us. Aimed at being something everyone can relate to, he considers it the “average Joe’s” viewpoint on everything from the sudden explosion of LGBTQ+, woke, and BLM to the defunding of police, gender transitioning, open borders, critical race theory, weaponization of the justice dept., the threat of WWIII, etc. It’s an examination of modern-day ideals, concepts, and movements that we are all being currently subjected to laced with insightful, matter-of-fact advice as to how to maintain one’s sanity and focus on what’s truly important in the face of it all.

Quick to voice his opinion, Dick’s penchant for sharing real-life experiences is further reflected through numerous correspondence he’s authored over the years as well as several ‘Letters to the Editor’ on a multitude of topics. Consequently, he’s managed to win numerous ‘Letter of the Week’ honors by refusing to be as passive as the world might prefer him to be.

While family has always come first, he’s managed to race automobile’s, fly hot-air balloons, hang-glide, white-water raft, and mix in some travel along the way including excursions hunting for ghosts and an ongoing search for the perfect rum and bourbon cocktails, to name just a few.

Dick’s tendency to seek out the fun in life is also demonstrated in his appetite for ‘super-sizing’ the parties he’s thrown as expressed in the “About the Author” of one previously published effort:

“Dick Durland is the self-proclaimed ‘king of the theme party’ possessing an extensive collection of relative artifacts he keeps stored away on his property accumulated over the years from hosting a wide variety of themed party events. Totem poles live in his back-yard, Halloween in his attic, palm trees in his shed, and where most people house their automobiles in their garage…instead, you’ll find a functioning volcano in his. By day, Dick is a degreed engineer who lives with his wife Susan and three children in Paxton, Massachusetts. By night, he remains a party die-hard.”

Dick and his wife Sue remain long-term residents of Paxton, where his books continue to come to life.