I grew up in the mid-west in the fifties and sixties, reading Heinlein, Asimov, etc. I've always wanted to write and began trying to write a novel about a particular idea I'd had (Friends in Dark Places)but my writing was rough and I kept throwing it out. Joining a writers' group helped me gain skills. When I'd finished the novel, I sent chapters to a major publisher who wrote back, "I enjoyed it, but we can't go any further until you get an agent." But then I couldn't get an agent, even with that letter. So, to gain writing credites, I began submitting short stories and poems (Usually silly ones) in 2002. Editors bought my work, I won a couple of minor awards and readers commented favorably. I'm proud to say that my file of acceptances is thicker than the file of rejections. (Not counting agent queries, which are not submissions.) Monkey John emerged (from the Dismal Swamp, where I live on the edge) and began writing for children.

Between me and MonkeyJohn, we've racked up approx. 100 short stories and poems in magazines such as The Martian Wave, AlienSkin, Aoife's Kiss, Beyond Centauri, The Fifth Dimension, Planet Relish and more. We've also appeared in anthologies such as Portals, Be Mine, Outposts of Beyond, and the "best of" series: Wondrous Web Worlds 3, 4&5.

I have received the independently-judged James B Baker Award from Sam's Dot Publishing in 2002 (poetry)as well as 2003&2005 (short story.) I was voted among the top ten internet authors in the 2004 Preditors and Editors Poll and my short story "Render Unto Karak" (A James Award winner) was voted among the top ten short stories on the internet in 2005. I have been nominated the 6th time for a James Award in the articles category and a short story of mine has been requested for teaching horror and gothic literature at North Harris College in Houston, Texas.