Questions & Answers about the Author

Q: How would you describe your writing style?

A:  I consider my novels to be Speculative Fiction. To me, this means they will include a touch of science fiction, strongly based on what I consider realistic high-tech possibilities. They also tend to include a good measure of philosophy, along with elements of mystery and romance. I like to think my writing appeals to a broader audience than pure SF might attract. Like some of my favorite authors, Ayn Rand or Robert Heinlein for example, I have no fear of poking big sticks at snarling dogs and cherished institutions. My primary focus is on the human condition, often as defined by the forces that attempt to place us into tightly structured roles. I'm not good at conformity, and neither are my characters.

Q: What made you decide to become a writer?

A:  I've always been a writer at heart. When I was in grade school I devoured books at a voracious rate. My reading comprehension skills tested well above my age level, so my teachers encouraged me to pursue writing. I found other challenges more exiting. My biggest dream as a sixth-grader was to become a pilot or an astronaut - until disaster struck.

I clearly remember the moment when I realized they would never let me fly. Maybe a paper airplane, but not a real one, much less a rocket to the moon or beyond. Somehow, as a 12-year-old, sitting in Mr. Kelley's sixth year class at Field grade school in Spokane, Washington, the ugly truth slapped me like a nasty lawsuit: They would never allow a blind and deaf man to become an astronaut. 

True, I was only blind in one eye and deaf in one ear, (a curious birth disorder), but that didn't change reality. I was crushed by this realization, but at least I recognized the truth. (These minor defects didn't stop me from getting a private pilot license later in life, but that's another story!)

Now, I should have pursued writing more seriously at this point, but again, I allowed other interests to hypnotize me. In high school, for example, I had my own music teaching studio where I taught accordion and guitar to over 120 students each week. Unfortunately, I was very successful at this endeavor. I say that because this early success seriously sidetracked both my academic and writing interests.

Later on, my natural inclination toward writing was sidetracked again, this time by computer technology. I taught myself to program computers in machine code and assembly language and miraculously convinced a fortune 500 company to hire me as a programmer/analyst without any formal credentials in the field. This turned into a longtime IT career both with large companies and as an independent consultant.

All the while, this nagging urge to write novels kept picking away at my soul. I mostly kept my efforts to myself, waiting for the time in my life when I could devote my full attention to developing the art and craft of story telling.

I'm happy to say that time has finally arrived. I now look forward to publishing the private novels I've written over the years, perhaps turning one or more of them into a series that will propel the characters I've nurtured, and grown to love, into even greater adventures.

Though most of my characters have remained solidly rooted on earth, the lure of space travel is still in my blood. I highly suspect this one-eyed, one-eared flying purple novel writer will one day return to the stars that fueled his imagination as a child.