Charles Kyffhausen

Charles Kyffhausen is the SF/Fantasy pen name of the author of "The Pact" (The Deepening, September 2006) and "On Camlann Field" (Dawn Sky, July 2005). He is working on his first fiction novel "Three Yankees in Camelot," a spinoff of Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court."

He has meanwhile published six nonfiction books on subjects ranging from manufacturing efficiency to organizational management. The latter publications cite myths and legends as insights into the cultures and attitudes of the societies that created them, and also as tools for transforming those cultures. Ancient gods become role models and archetypes for modern human occupations while the Labors of Hercules teach how innovative thinking can overcome real-world obstacles.

Archetypes and symbols are also central to Kyffhausen's fiction. The coat of arms of the fictional Morgan Armory consist of Vulcan, the god of artisans and engineers, handing a shield to Minerva and a plow to Ceres. The motto is Iustus et Prosperitas, Justice and Prosperity. The Morgan Armory therefore symbolizes the role of manufacturing industries in creating weapons with which to uphold justice and tools with which to advance the human condition. On the other hand, his fictional works are also intended to be just plain action and adventure with a sprinkling of comic relief along the way.