He has covered politics for his entire career in journalism, giving him a unique insight into the reasons politicians often do the strange things that they do. Hal left daily journalism in 2006. In 1999, Hal started writing nonfiction books for young readers and by 2025 he has authored more than two hundred titles for several national publishers. His 2017 book for young readers, The Opioid Epidemic, was nominated for the $50,000 Kirkus Review Prize. He has also edited several books and was a contributing author to The Good Crisis, an examination of population issues in the 21st Century. Since 2015, he has served as a judge for the Eric Hoffer Award, a national literary contest. He makes his home in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Painting the White House is a novel that tells the humorous story of an ordinary painter who lands the job of painting the White House. Once he gets inside and gets down to work, he finds himself entangled in all the cookies and weird intrigues that go on in the Executive Mansion. While authoring the book he wanted to accurately portray the White House, so he did a considerable amount of research. He soon found actual humorous stories about the White House, some of which he was able to weave into the narrative. Although, the book is a work of fiction. The sample questions which follow all deal with factual events in the White House.

https://www.amazon.com/Painting-White-House-thought-couldnt/dp/1709165316

http://www.yourlotandparcel.org