Phillip SpolinPHILLIP SPOLIN is a writer from Chicago now living in Pacific Palisades, California. He has received recognition for several short stories including, Jacob Calendar, Marty & Sally, and There's Someone For Everyone. The Canary Connection is his first ovel. He is also the writer for the documentary, The Trap Tour, and has had a lifelong association with improvisational theater. In my earliest thoughts I remember a desire to somehow find adventure beyond the alleys and vacant lots of the west side of Chicago. I waited until after years of schooling to fulfill that wish, leaving that great city on a home-built sailboat. It was my great escape. A long journey through the heartland of America down the Mississippi River, wintering in New Orleans, across the Gulf of Mexico and settling in Coconut Grove, Florida. From there I sailed throughout the Caribbean islands and Central America, and through a bizarre set of circumstances found myself working for a year in the Canary Islands. Returning to the states and a twelve-year law career in Chicago, my island experience prompted a move back to that wonderful archipelago. There in the shade of a towering volcano, I was inspired by the story of Columbus who left from the Canaries to the New World. The unusual convergence of the departure of that voyage happening on the exact same date as the expulsion of all non-Catholics from Spain, invited a deeper investigation uncovering other intriguing and revolutionary events, a true Canary connection. Other writings and endeavors can be found at my website phillipspolin.com. Read More Read Less