“Near Miss: The Attempted Assassinaton of JFK”. It details an incident in December 1960 while Kennedy was president-elect. Richard Paul Pavlick was stalking the president-elect.
Left: U.S. Secret Service arrest photo of Richard Paul Pavlick, December 15, 1960
He left his home in Belmont, New Hampshire after the November 8, 1960 election day with the intent to prevent JFK from ever being inaugurated as president. He visited the same cities Kennedy visited and eventually arrived outside the Kennedy home in West Palm Beach, Florida. There he wired his car and himself with dynamite and ignition switches. His intent was to ram the president’s car and set off an explosion. Pavlick was not known to the Secret Service until the postmaster in Belmont, Thomas Murphy reported suspicious mail he received from Pavlick to his inspectors, they in turn called in the Secret Service.
Secret Service Chief, U.E. Baughman, in his autobiography stated that the Pavlick attempt “ranks with the closest calls any President ever had. I believe few know the real facts and hardly anybody realized just how near we came one bright December morning to losing our President-elect to a madman.”
Using previously unavailable U.S. District Court records and Secret Service files I am examing this “near miss” in detail including the Constitutional ramifications of the death of a president-elect before his confirmation by the Electoral College. My book tells the true story of the attempt, the life of Richard Paul Pavlick, and the what-ifs – that is what would have happened if Pavlick had been successful. I think anyone with an interest in the 1960′s or history will be fascinated as I am by this story. Copyright 2007, Steve B. Davis
Stumblin` Through Life: Writings of a Do-it-Again Dad
Published in early 2012 this is a collection of short stories from my life experiences, birth, school, marriage, kids, divorce, single-again, remarriage and kids again. I`m confident this will bring smiles to the reader.
Short Story/Article Projects
I`m always getting ideas and writing some short stories and attempting to have them published. I find it challenging, but enjoyable. Here are just some of the stories written or in progress (Fiction and Nonfiction):
The Invisible Immigrants: One Child’s Story (nonfiction) – published in March/April Issue of Saltscapes magazine. This is a mainstream glossy published and distributed in Eastern Canada. Paying market. I retain rights.
The Silo – an end of the world scenario. (fiction)
*Feb 10, 2009 accepted for publication in Halloween compilation of horror stories by NVP Publications. No payment, but lots of great exposure and I retain rights.
The Relic – a controversial artifact is found by astronauts exploring Mars. (fiction)
The Shower – an erotic tale of a married couple. (fiction)
Wounding the Bull Moose: The Shooting of Theodore Roosevelt – attempted killing of candidate Roosevelt during the 1912 presidential election campaign. (nonfiction)
Ambush At Pincher Creek: The Unsolved Sopow/McNab Murders – narrative nonfiction of unsolved murders in southern Alberta.
Cruising: crime thriller short story with a twist. (fiction)
* Published in e-zine Darkest Before the Dawn in 2009.
Taps: poignant war story of an ordinary soldier at D-Day. (fiction)
Seaway Robbery: Story of a bank robbery my father experienced in his first assignment as a bank manager.
* Published in The Country Connection 2011.





[...] Writing Projects [...]
Nice one =)) =^_^=
Thanks for the link. It looks interesting. I may just send a proposal to them. Appreciate your interest. I’ll let you know how I make out.
Steve
Hey, check out Book Ends. They just posted an interest in nonfiction. Here’s the link: http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-im-looking-for.html
Good suggestions. I may just do that to help me document the process. Thanks for the imput.
Steve
I have a few proposals out for how-to nonfiction and editing a fiction piece. Recently I’ve been contemplating writing a biography or creating a documentary. One who or what, I don’t know.
But I’d be interested to learn more about how you chose your topic, your research process, and your submission process. Maybe these could be ideas for blog posts?
No not lately. Did get another letter from Secret Service that they are reviewing the files prior to releasing them to me under FIA. Also I have been doing some rewriting and editing.
Steve
Any more updates?
AbsoluteWrite and other sites have “bewares” and lists of agencies and publishers with complaints against them. Good resources for scams such as this one. I might just do a post on them.
Steve
Sounds interesting — and I’m glad you caught on to the “agency” before you got sucked in.
Thanks David. The book you mention is on my to read list. I too have read virtually everything on JFK.
Steve
An interesting subject for a book, Steve. I’m surprised something on this hasn’t come out somewhere before. I’ve read everything I can find and afford on the JFK assassination, and other events in his life. I recently finished The Dark Side Of Camelot by Seymour Hercsh, which was a fascinating read.
Good luck on the book project.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Two days ago I rewatched JFK by Oliver Stone so the timing of this post was on target.
I would recommend reading “Brothers” a book about the relationship between JFK and his brother Robert before and during his presidency. Fascinating history. I posted a review here sometime ago.
Steve
A customer already. LOL. Glad that it piqued your interest. Thanks for reading and the comment.
Steve
This is fascinating. I’m definately interested in reading the book.