About Me

In 2006, a co-worker shared with me that a bucket list goal was to write a novel.  That brief comment awakened a desire in me that had been buried since I was in the fifth grade. 

I never had to choose a subject, my subject rather chose me ~ Ernest Hemingway

When I decided to start writing on 2008 during a brief time of unemployment, my subject came to me while reading another book.  I quickly made some notes about the premise and the outline and got to work.  I started researching  the business of fiction and what it would take to be published.

Between more than full-time work and life, it has taken me four years to complete the first draft.  In addition to the demands of life, I learned about the art of fiction, including the value of outlining, along the way.  After 2011 came and went, the third year I didn't complete the first draft of A Place to Call Their Own, I did some serious thinking about my progress on the novel.  After a serious brainstorming session, I was back on track.  I finished writing the first draft in March of 2012.

I immediately started writing my second novel, Disappear With Me.  Armed with an outline, forty pages of notes, and a new-found confidence in myself, I have consistently written 5000 words per week since starting and never had any moments of paralyzing fear, also known as writer's block.

Don't ever be sorry for following your dream.  Of all emotions, regret is most futile ~ Patrick Taylor, A Dublin Student Doctor

I am no one special, just a man with a dream of a successful publishing career. I grew up in a small town in Nebraska.  I moved to Denver, Colorado in 1994 and lived there for thirteen and a half years.  In 2001, I discovered Tupperware.  I apply much of what I learned in direct sales to my writing career.  It's helped me stay persistent and keep on track in achieving my dreams and goals.

My then-husband, Thomas, and I moved to Bella Vista, Arkansas in 2008.  After a brief period of unemployment, I found a job in Joplin, Missouri and we lived there for about eighteen months.  We moved to Kansas City, Missouri in January of 2010 and love it here. 

I now have a job that I love with a schedule that allows me to work on my writing during my most productive hours of the morning.  It may even allow me to go to graduate school and still work. 

Real art is about showing a part of yourself, something from very deep inside you that maybe even you didn't know was there.  And that means making yourself very vulnerable, and that can be really scary.  But if you do it right, you can create something truly beautiful. Something that lasts ~ Peter Pezzelli, Villa Mirabella

I have always loved history. I grew up watching epic mini-series on television like The Blue and the Gray and the North and South Trilogy and reading the books that they were based upon.  I knew that once I started writing I would write historical fiction.

I also knew that my characters would be LGBT characters set in the historical backdrops about which I was writing.  I read in the mid-1990s that being an out gay men then was a political statement.  And that's even more important today.

I also want everyone to know that I write with the intent to make my stories enjoyable for all.  My hope for anyone opposed to the LGBT rights movement that reads my novels is that they understand that we are no different from anyone else.  That is all we want:  to be able to pursue our happiness free from the restraints of an intolerant society.  And I believe this is the same right to pursue happiness that our founding fathers wrote about 237 years ago in 1776.

I do not consider myself a political person.  I understand the importance of casting my vote for the president; I vote along party lines or for open LGBT candidates in the local elections.  At the same time, my novels will be released in a environment of polarized opinions on the subject.  If I can help persuade just one person that LGBT rights are human rights, then I will feel like I have succeeded.

No one should tread on anyone else's dreams.  No one ~ Patrick Taylor, A Dublin Student Doctor

In addition to achieving my own dreams, I believe in helping others reach their dreams as well.  After being involved in Tupperware and working at U.S. Bank, where sharing of ideas was paramount to success, it is important for me to share my journey with others along the way.

The focus of my blog is inspirational messages to keep one going on their dream journey.  Although I write about my own dream journey of becoming a published novelist, I try to write from a global perspective.  My hope is that someone else reading on a similar dream journey can relate and use my lessons to reach their dreams and goals.

My plan for success is simple.  Create a Vision, Set Goals, Develop and Follow Routines, Define Boundaries, and Find Friends along the way.  On a daily basis, I subscribe to a personal routine of WWRR, which stand for Workout, Write, Read, and Relax.  For me, this is the most basic activities I need to do to reach my goals.  I encourage readers to figure it their most basic activities and  develop their daily mantra to which they can subscribe.

Here's to the occasional bliss of doing nothing and not feeling guilty about it ~ Jill Badonsky

In addition to writing, reading, and working, I do my best to enjoy life as well.  I have two cats that own me.  There are plenty of pictures of them on my Facebook page.

I'm involved in my church and enjoy watching movies, outdoor activities in the warmer weather, and spending time with friends and family. In addition to writing, my hobbies include reading, patio gardening, and knitting.

Check me out on Facebook, Twitter, and the other social media sites I visit to keep up on my daily adventures.