Sequim: Writer published at 97

Published 12:01 am Monday, January 19, 2004

SEQUIM — Virgil Cross has hip pain sometimes, and finds that his eyes and ears aren’t quite what they used to be.

But his hands are rock-steady as he writes long-hand dozens of pages at a time, slaving diligently over a project which, when published, will be the Dungeness Meadows resident’s next book.

It will be a sequel to The McKenna Dynasty. a historical novel set in the California and Idaho gold fields of the mid-1800s which was published this month by PublishAmerica in Frederick, Md.

It is being sold online by both Amazon and Barnes and Noble — and having a book published at the age of 97 is a distinction for Cross, a retired university professor of horticulture.

According to Cross’ agent, he is the oldest first-time published novelist in U.S. history.

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The rest of the story appears in Monday’s Peninsula Daily News.