The Tenacious Bloom

David J. Hirschman is not an environment detective, per se, but has spent four decades working to bring understanding to the issues of water pollution and ecosystem protection. He has spent much of that time collaborating with colleagues on the massive endeavor to restore the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The trials and travails of Agent Aliyah Aurea, although entirely fictional, reflect the very same issues he has encountered in his professional career. You can often catch him riding his bicycle around Charlottesville, Virginia, where he resides with his wife Garnett, an occasional adult child sojourning in their hometown for a while, and a large red maple tree. 

Dave also operates a small environmental consulting business, Hirschman Water & Environment, LLC. He works on small and large stormwater projects; conducts training events and workshops for environmental professionals, students, workforce program participants, and other audiences; and works collaboratively with other organization to improve water quality and build more resilient communities.  

Check out his website at www.hirschmanwater.com and read his blog posts at the Blog tab on the banner.

Here are some of the recent author events I have been invited to for The Tenacious Bloom.

In June, I was invited to the local chapter of the Rotary Club to give an author talk. I also discussed my 40+ career in water resources management and how those experiences influenced the situations and characters in the book.

In March, I gave an author talk at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) in Charlottesville. I enjoyed interacting with the attendees, who had many interesting questions about the environmental themes in the book.

This past December, I was the featured author, along with Nancy Sorrells from Lots Wife Publishing, for the “Books and Brews” series, sponsored by WMRA and Stone Soup Books. The event was held at Seven Arrows Brewing in Waynesboro, VA. I enjoyed discussing the cases and characters with Nancy and Mary Froehlich from Stone Soup Books. You can find out more here, and even listen to the archived conversation.

I also held several small book events for a local book club (all of whose members read the book and had questions) and an event in Silver Spring, MD hosted by the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council.

I held my book launch in May of 2024 on a very rainy evening (but under a cozy tent) at the Rivanna River Company. The rain was entirely appropriate for the settings in the book, and I was touched by all the support I received from friends and colleagues.