COMPUTER AGE: Paul McKinley of Mission Viejo...

COMPUTER AGE: Paul McKinley of Mission Viejo was having trouble finding a publisher for his World War II memoir, “Cruiser Scout: Recollections of War in the Pacific,” in time for the 50th anniversary of V-J Day. But son-in-law Greg Smith hit on an unusual alternative: Put the 180-page manuscript, complete with photos and illustrations, on the Internet. In two weeks, 800 people have read it. . . . Says Smith: “We’ve had amazing results so far.” But now some readers want copies of the book.

JUST THE FACTS: Geoffrey Wolff, who replaced Australian author Thomas Keneally as an instructor in UC Irvine’s graduate program in writing, brings a twist to the English department. He’ll teach a workshop called “The Literature of Fact”: autobiographical writing that focuses on creating a “piece of art” rather than a piece of reporting. . . . Says Wolff, whose books include “The Duke of Deception” about his con-man father: “They’ll use all the resources of fiction, but you won’t say what you know not to be true: you stick with the facts and that’s the fun of it.”

TAKE CHARGE: Parents whose children get poor grades might have themselves to blame. Nita Weis, a Laguna Niguel academic therapist, says parents must take control. In “Raising Achievers: A Parent’s Plan for Motivating Children to Excel” (Broadman & Broadman Publishers), Weis equips parents with skills to maximize their children’s learning potential. . . . Says Weis: “If parents don’t establish learning as the No. 1 priority for the child, the child won’t either.”

MEDAL REDUX: For the second year in a row, Anaheim poet John Harrell and Coronado artist Philip L. (Moki) Martin have won a gold medal in the National Veterans Creative Arts Competition. The winning entry is a video of Harrell’s poetry and Martin’s art work from their book of war poems, “Twenty Years.” They received their medal at the VA hospital in La Jolla. Says Harrell, a retired Army lieutenant colonel: “I was shocked. We did the video back in March and I just kind of forgot about it.”