"Four to get Ready" is the third volume of the four sequential, period, mystery/adventure novels. Each story is a complete book. The chronology a continuation and each novel is done in a style suiting the period, It's written in the first person in descriptive, visual terms, liberally laced with violence, nostalgia and considerable good humor. This third novel is set in 1948 - 1958, the style is a satire of movies of that period, Our story begins; Catherine has walked out on Tony for no apparent reason and leaves the country. In LA they take delivery of the Phoenix Corp aircraft, a C46-A, reworked like an expensive yacht and pressurized for a smooth and safe flight. It comes with a gorgeous female flight crew. They meet a new client, then take off to a shakedown cruise to Acapulco, Vegas and unexpected problems. Tommy's sapped from behind and severely beaten, They decide to open a casino of their own but it's squelched by the mob. Enter the F.B.I. with an offer. The mob is suspected as distributer, in a gigantic counterfeit scam that's big enough to destroy the US economy. Because of their history the trio accepts an undercover deal. Brother Joe is kidnapped and saved by Antonio Delugio, a European mob boss. Johnny Romaro, Tony's wartime comrade is brutally murdered by the Las Vegas Don, while working undercover. While at a Hollywood premier party, Tony meets Katrina Nordstrum, a statuesque Nordic beauty and a red hot affair erupts. Katrina's kidnapped by the Big Man and raped. Tony challenges him to a dual in the desert, he loses and the results are very interesting. You'll be surprised Another incredible plot surfaces in the nations assault, the assassination of the President. Tony is poisoned by the megalomaniac, attempting to save the President. A grateful Government pays with a Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.
A consummate, professional portrait artist and sculptor. Richard R. Miller was born on the 4th of July, 1931. He's first generation Canadian and a direct descendant of Scotland's Earl of Lennox. His career began at the end of his formal education. He soon made a reputation as an ultimate colorist and romantic realist. A designer who preconceives what he creates, with the capacity to describe exquisite detail with great economy of stroke. As a portrait painter and sculptor, his dedication is absolute. "There is nothing better in art than a good portrait. . . and nothing worse than a bad one". His commissions number in the hundreds, extending over much of the world. They include Royalty, the Queen, Prince Philip and the Queen Mother, President Lincoln and President Kennedy, two Speakers of the House of Parliament, State portraits of Gov. George S. Mickelson, Gov. John Patterson, Gov. Walter Dale Miller and Gov. Michael Rounds, the Fords, Henry 1, Henry11, Edsel, Benson and Eleanor Clay. There are C.E.O.s and Presidents of Corporations; sports figures and Hall of Fame members; family and individual portraits and many children. My self portrait was honored by the P.S.A., with the annual "People's Choice Award". Now, to the bronzes That I can remember; In 1997, a monumental; full length, bronze of Henry Ford 11 for the renaming of Ford Corp. to the Henry Ford 11 World Center; a sculpture of Henry ford II and Walter P. Reuther, shaking hands across a bargaining table for the new UAW-FORD building; Susan & Leslie Gonda for the Mayo Clinic. A 200% size, bas relief for the lobby of the new Gonda Building; Full length bronzes of Dr.and Mrs. Hyles & a bust of Dr. Anderson co-founders of the First Baptist Church in Indiana; a bas relief bronze of Henry Ford 1st fiddling country music on his Stradivarius for The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville; a seated bronze of Anthony Toldo, Canadian philanthropist; The three Reuther Brothers. 200% bronze busts on an eight ton granite base with legend. for the UAW Black Lake resort; a three figure, full length, of William Clay Ford Jr., Steven Yockich and Peter Pestillo. Three editions of the monument were made for each of three U.A.W. Ford Family Centers; an 80% self bust (never cast); an 80% bronze Civil War trooper and a "Jennifer" nude, on a cushion plinth. A Foundry explosion destroyed the molds, just a bronze of each remains. This hasn't scratched the surface. Thanks for your interest!! ... Richard
