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Cerebral Palsy - Back to News Menu
Author shares book with riders
By Eric Leach, Staff Writer
SIMI VALLEY - July 02, 2005 - A group of Metrolink commuters has formed a close bond passing the hours chatting and reading each new chapter of a romantic novel written by one of their companions.
What makes the story special, they say, is that author Craig Clifton of Simi Valley has cerebral palsy.
Clifton has painstakingly punched out 10 words a minute on a special keyboard over the past two years to complete his tale of a divorced Malibu professor's search for lost love in a tiny, Montana river town.
While the novel hasn't been published yet, Clifton's commuting buddies -- mostly women in their 20s through 50s -- say it's a great read. And they're surprised some of the "steamy scenes" could come from the mild-mannered, 41-year-old MTA computer analyst.
"I knew Craig a long time before I read his book," said Janet Shute of Chatsworth, who commutes to Burbank. "I was pretty surprised it came out of this guy I knew on the train."
Clifton, who has to hold a pen in his teeth to write his name, said he has trouble reading because of difficulty turning pages and problems with his eyes caused by cerebral palsy.
But when he started listening to books on tape a few years ago, he became inspired by the Nicholas Sparks novels "Message In A Bottle," "A Walk to Remember" and "The Notebook."
"I thought this might be easy to write a novel. I can do this," Clifton said. "But it wasn't as easy as I thought."
It took him two years to finish, but Clifton called it "one of my proudest achievements." He's not deterred that it has not yet been published and he has embarked on a second book.
Clifton lives his own real-life romance in Simi Valley with his Russian-born wife Natasha, 32. They met through correspondence after he placed an advertisement in a magazine. Seventy-five women responded to his ad and he corresponded with about 10, eventually marrying Natasha in 1997.
He works for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as a computer programmer analyst.
Clifton sometimes uses a cane to help him walk and sometimes uses a wheelchair, which he pushes with his feet.
His novel, "Veronica's Hair," is about a Southern California man who goes to Montana in search of his first love, but winds up finding something he did not anticipate.
"It kind of reminds me of 'The Bridges of Madison County,"' said Theresa Wetstein of Simi Valley, one of a group of more than 10 Metrolink riders who have read the book.
"It's a really neat love story. It leaves you just so happy, believing in love again. Like fairy tales do come true," said Wetstein.
Wetstein said she once kidded Clifton by telling him, "I can't look you in the eye after reading some of those steamy scenes."
Clifton said if he ever does get his book published, he would like to donate part of the proceeds to the local United Cerebral Palsy organization that has helped him so much during his life.
Another commuter who read the novel was Julia Bennett, the 44-year-old Los Angeles Fire Department employee killed in the Jan. 26 Metrolink derailment in Burbank.
Bennett had a change in her work schedule that led her to take the train that crashed.
"Craig and I were very close to her. We lost some of our best friends in that crash," said Wetstein. "I still can't stop crying."
Clifton said his relationship with his wife and friendships with women on the train provided him with ideas while he was writing the novel.
He said he didn't base any of his characters on his fellow commuters for this book, but said he might in the future. That would please Wetstein.
"I think it would be great if he wrote a novel about our rides and our closeness and our lives. It's almost like a soap opera."
Wetstein said they are together every day and tell each other everything about their lives. "There's not one detail spared," she said.
Caroline Leavitt of New Jersey, the author of six novels of her own, including "Coming Back to Me" and "Girls in Trouble," was Clifton's teacher at a UCLA Extension writing class conducted over the Internet.
Since she communicated with him online, she said, she never had any idea he had cerebral palsy while he was in her class.
"Craig was one of my all-time favorite students -- and just a really wonderful person," Leavitt said. "He's passionate about his work, dedicated, and he loved his characters and made me care about them, too."
The women on the Metrolink train say Clifton serves as an inspiration to them, not only for writing his novel, but for his optimistic approach to life in general.
"All of us say when we complain about our jobs, we feel guilty," said Wetstein. "Every morning, Craig is at that train station with a hug and a smile for everyone. Everybody on the train is Craig's friend. ... He just goes for it. It amazes me he has such a positive outlook."
Clifton said the morning and afternoon commutes are essential for his creative process.
"We spend about two hours a day every day talking about each other's lives and the goings on in the world, our problems and our views on everything," he said. "There's never been a place where I've had so much time to develop relationships."
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Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602 eric.leach@dailynews.com
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