Passion - always with a passion
The author
Rich Polk lived near Burgess Falls in Cookeville for two of the formative years of his youth. His ancestry has roots in the Kentucky wing of the Polk family, which diverged from the Maryland Polk's in the early 1800's. A New Jersey resident for over fifty years, he has enjoyed diverse careers in law enforcement, risk management, accounting, teaching, and consulting. He resides with his wife, Michelle, in Monroe, New Jersey, nearby to his two grandchildren.
Readers have enjoyed his two earlier novels, The Boarder on Monroe Street and Mantis Prayers. He has also written a collection of short stories, Patchwork. Print and e-book versions of these works are available on Amazon.com.
With Burgess Falls, the author adds specific historical perspectives to his literary romance constructions. He hopes the book will serve as a testament to his love for the land, people, and history of Tennessee.
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The photographer
Given a box camera as a youngster, Rich's photography career nearly came to an abrupt end after expending two rolls of film with squirrels as the subject. The animals were wild, rescued when their nest tree was destroyed by a tornado. The little camera was incapable of rendering anything close to a decent photo, and Rich's mother declared that he would be responsible for paying for future film and processing.
A short time later, he became interested in railroad photography, and he rode his bicycle to the Louisville and Nashville tracks near his home in Anchorage, KY, carrying the same camera. The photos he took there launched a lifelong quest to photograph trains on three continents, (and counting).
Still, a passion to photograph nature lurked quietly inside him. Only after retirement did he purchase a lens that might do justice to that passion. He is enjoying the efforts as much as the results..
