The Writer Behind the Pen

My first full-length novel hit KDP in the fall of 2016. It’s sequel came out the following year. Both were National Novel Writing Month projects, and the final result of many years of dreaming and development.

Holding my Model 1894 Winchester.

I’m an okay shot, but I think that jacket looks pretty cool!

It started with a weekly journal assignment in grade school and became a regular doodling habit which annoyed most of my teachers before I departed high school. I spent college pursuing a degree which would lead to a “stable” income. My idea was that I’d write as a hobby while working a regular job. Well, life got in the way of things and it took a while before I had something worth sharing with the world.

Westerns were my first love starting with John Wayne “B” movies and other B&W movies starring Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. By age 10 I started reading Louis L’Amour and soon branched out to Owen Wister, Zane Grey and Jack Schaefer among others. The western genre, in its classic state, will always be my favorite.

Watching Star Wars for the first time at age eight started me down the road to nerdiness. Following this, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Voyager and Deep Space Nine ran on TV for a good chunk of my middle school years inspiring a fascination in science fiction. I have enjoyed Evan Curie’s works immensely and consider him my favorite Science Fiction writer.

After repeated attempts in the Mystery Genre, which is as close to mainstream as I care to venture, I realized that Historical Fiction, especially Westerns, are my home when it comes to writing. This led to my two recent works in progress. I hope to have these ready for publication by fall 2024 or winter/spring 2025.

For fourteen years, I worked seasonally as a Park Ranger across central and western US. Overlapping with that was work as a firefighter and EMT. I currently work for an ambulance service in North Dakota, struggle with housekeeping, caring for a dog, two cats, fish and a significant other, or driving or repairing parts of our vintage car collection.