I was born in 1948 in what, in those very different days, was termed an upper middle class family, in Kankakee, Illinois. I came home from the hospital with the proverbial silver spoon at times literally in my mouth. I grew up on a stunningly beautiful four acre plot, in part heavily wooded, with a large two story house to explore. I was smart enough that I never had to work very hard in the lower grades of school, and as a result treated the subjects I later didn't care for with little respect (or diligence). It took a long time for me to realize that things that matter can frequently demand a lot of work from you, if you want to get them right. I rather unimpressively attended Southern Illinois University, graduating in philosophy with equivalent hours in psychology. While working at almost every unimportant and unimaginative job imaginable, I always remembered my early dream to write. I got a job as sports editor for a small weekly newspaper, The Mountain Sun, in Kerrville, Texas, and was suddenly working full time as a writer/editor. In addition, I performed a short stint there as acting news editor. My time at the newspaper was instrumental in honing some skills that were weak, and I was fortunate enough to be working in that newsroom at the time of the 9-11 attacks. If you think that morning was an electric one to experience, you should have been in a newsroom at the time, with that story unfolding as the newspaper's deadline approached.  

For a while I edited a column for the Writers' League of Texas newsletter, which went by a variety of names. And for the better part of two years I was a Contributing Editor, writing for a Website on collector cars. Some of those articles were quite rewarding to write.

I have been fairly fortunate in the areas of competitions and awards. I won first place in the Winning Beginnings Contest, a competition for the best first 300 words of a story, on an Internet site dedicated to writing. I felt quite honored. And I had great luck with an inspirational creative nonfiction piece called "The Courage of John Bankston." It was awarded a finalist in the Adams Media Inspiring True Story Contest, 2001. The story was later published in one of an inspirational series of books, A Cup of Comfort for Courage, edited by Colleen Sell. Later still, the story sold yet again to Boss Magazine.

Another highlight was an ebook introduction I wrote for the Barnes and Noble World Digital Library (which no longer exists). It was rewarding, while it lasted, because I was one of very few introduction writers in possession of only a B.A. degree. When they discontinued the program, the ebooks all vanished, "poof!"