William R. (Bill) Trotter (July 15, 1943 - February 28, 2018) was an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

Writings

Trotter's work covered a variety of genres and markets. His first published work was "Sibelius and the Tides of Taste" for '' High Fidelity'' in 1965. Lawyer Rob Newsom III invited him to write ''Deadly Kin,'' a

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

book, which was published in 1989. A research project Trotter started while at

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

about the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

eventually became the history book ''A Frozen Hell,'' published in 1991. It was awarded the Arts and Letters Prize of the Finlandia Foundation. A trilogy of books on the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

was published in 1991 and 1992. ''Winter Fire,'' his first novel, was published in 1993. A horror novelette, "Siren of Swanquarter", published in Deathrealm magazine, was nominated for a

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

in 1994. His biography of conductor

Dmitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος; The dates 18 February 1896 and 1 March 1896 both appear in the literature. Many of Mitropoulos's early interviews and program notes gave 18 February. In his later interviews, howe ...

was published in 1995. He wrote two guides for the

Close Combat Close combat means a violent physical confrontation between two or more opponents at short range.''MCRP 3-02B: Close Combat'', Washington, D.C.: Department Of The Navy, Headquarters United States Marine Corps, 12 February 1999Matthews, Phil, CQB ...

series of computer games in 1999. A pair of

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

s set in North Carolina during the Civil War, ''Sands of Pride'' and ''Fires of Pride,'' were published in 2002 and 2003, and his most recent novel, ''Warrener's Beastie,'' was published in 2006. He has also written "The Desktop General" column for ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ...

'' magazine since 1988. Trotter also has spent time in Filmography as an Assistant Director for '' Ghost Recon 2'' in 2004 and as the musical consultant for one episode of ''

Live from Lincoln Center ''Live from Lincoln Center'' is a seventeen-time Emmy Award-winning series that has broadcast notable performances from the Lincoln Center in New York City on PBS since 1976. The program airs between six and nine times per season. Episodes of '' ...

'' in 1976. Trotter was also a classical music expert and collector, owning one of the largest collections of vinyl and CD recordings in the Southeast. He wrote on classical music for the ''

Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'', the ''High Point Enterprise'', and the ''

Greensboro News & Record The ''News & Record'' is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and produces local sections for Greensb ...

'', among others, and served as program annotator for Greensboro's prestigious Eastern Music Festival. He was an acknowledged expert on the works of

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

, the subject of his novel ''Winter Fire'', and

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

, whose Trotter-penned biography has gone as yet unpublished but has made the rounds of the Leopold Stokowski Society for many years.

Biography

Trotter was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

. At the age of fourteen he wrote his first novel, ''Glorious October'' (unpublished) about the Hungarian revolution of 1956. He married his second wife, pianist Elizabeth Lustig, in 1983. They had one son together and one son each from previous marriages. Trotter and Lustig published ''The Northstate Reader'' monthly tabloid from 1981 to 1984. Trotter died on February 28, 2018, in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, of pancreatic cancer.

Works

Novels

*''Winter Fire'' (

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

) *''Sands of Pride'' (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

) *''Fires of Pride'' (

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

) *''Warrener's Beastie'' (

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

)

History

*''Deadly Kin: A True Story of a Mass Family Murder'' (

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

) *''Silk Flags and Cold Steel'' (1988) *''Bushwhackers!: The Mountains'' (

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

) *''Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast'' (1991) *''Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939/40'' (1991) **Republished in 2002 as ''The Winter War: The Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940'' *''Priest of Music: The Life of Dimitri Mitropoulos'' (1995)

Computer guides

*''Word Processing'' by Anderson and Trotter (

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

) *''Ascendancy: The Official Strategy Guide'' (

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

) *''Close Combat: Inside Moves'' (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

) *''Close Combat - A Bridge Too Far: Inside Moves'' (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

)

Novelettes and short stories

*"The Running Back from Yuggoth" - ''Fantasy Book'' June 1985 *"Bagman" - ''Night Cry'' Fall 1985 *"A Pinch of Snuff" - '' Deathrealm'' Fall/Win 1990 *"The Boss of the Seventh Level" - ''Deathrealm'' Spr 1992 *"A Graveside chat with Diedra Cox" - ''Deathrealm'' Win 1993 *"The Siren of Swanquarter" - ''Deathrealm'' Win 1993 *"Big Game" - ''Deathrealm'' Fall 1996 *"The Bleeding of Hauptmann Gehlen" - ''The Darkest Thirst'', Anon, Design Image Group 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trotter, William R. American male novelists Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina Writers from Greensboro, North Carolina 1943 births 2018 deaths American male short story writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American columnists Davidson College alumni 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from North Carolina 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers