When I was growing up, the writers I liked were Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Conan Doyle, Dumas and Jack London. Later, add to that Steinbeck and Hemingway.
As I think about it, I guess I always liked writing. As I wrote and wrote and wrote in long hand until my hand got cramped. Oh, the pain! I remember my sister had gotten a new top of the line super finger touch-sensative electric typewriter and with the aid of a lesson book I began to teach myself how to type. Shortly after I started, I experienced a high school chemistry lab accident. A broken glass rod went into the little finger side of my right hand. It was stopped by the bone of my third finger, In the process, a nerve was severed. I lost sensitivity on the top of that finger. When I resumed the typing lessons I looked at my results which were something like toooooo, or fulllllllll, and so on. Not good. As a consequence, to compensate for my failed transition to a more efficient way to put things down on paper I wrote faster. I came to a point where when I went back to read it, I found it took me longer to decipher what I had written than the time it took me to write it. Even now I have to slow my pace so that I can read what I wrote. I still write mainly in longhand even though I now have almost all the touch sensitivity restored in that finger. I can laugh at it now.
Seriously, I started writing descriptive prose at an early age. Then I tried to poetize what I wrote. I enjoyed the visualization and rythm and song that ink could deposit on an otherwise empty piece of paper.
In college I was a pre-med student majoring in Biology and Chemistry. But being a doctor was just something I was never cut out to be. I liked taking the cutting edge theoretical courses in Biology and Biochemistry, but, also liked the social science and humanities courses, as well.
Afterwards, I went about exploring, living and working around the U.S.A. My equally adventurous wife accompanied me. We eventually setlled in a place where we still live called Cape Coral, Florida where we home-schooled our two sons. All the while I was working regular jobs from concrete construction to store clerk to technical wastewater reuse operations. There's no sense of accomplishment like having raised a family.
I've studied many belief systems throughout my whole life. I'm convinced that you really need a strong one to fall back on during the tough times. It eventually came down to a personal, literal choice between life and death, which I won't delve into at this time, to confirm this. To make a long story short, I embraced Christianity. It works for me.
As for the series of novels I'm doing, A.C.E. Vanguard is the first. It's alot of work to write a novel, even a bad one. I've trashed a few I didn't think were up to grade. In preparation for my novels I do lots and lots of research. I don't like cardboard characterization. I do not believe you need gratuitous sex and violence to make a good story. The continuous theme moving in and out in the first series is that there are influences in this world that are beyond governments and politics and events. Enough said. Come along with me for the ride, if you will.
