About the Author:
I've had an interesting life. I suppose that's why a couple years ago I started writing. I've had an interest about writing and reading since grade school. Growing up, I was a dedicated reader. I read many of the classics, from Moby Dick to the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Grandmother had the full collection of Ernest Hemingway on her bookshelves. I read them all. I was hooked on going to libraries. I'd spend hours browsing the shelves. I read The Count of Monte Cristo, The Odyssey, anything by Jack London. Later in life I became a Tom Clancy fan.
As I aged, I realized I've seen a lot and done a lot, both good and bad. I thought I might as well write some of it down. I started writing techno thrillers and am now working on writing a long book of memoirs. The book will take some time to write. My life has been unusual, with many twists and turns
I grew up as an Air Force brat. As a ten and eleven years old I lived in Japan for 18 months. This was during the Korean War. The war ended in 1953 (not really, a cease fire took place) so my step dad was rotated back to the States. I had no choice, but to return with him. I liked Japan.
We weren't in the States for long. In 1955 we went to Chateauroux, France. We were in France for three years. I hated to leave. I was a high school sophomore, a football star, a big fish in a small pond. How many American teenagers get to walk down the Champs-Élysées and drink Cognac in sports bars? I really liked France.
Fast forward a few years and I was attending Georgia Tech part time and working at Western Electric as an Engineering Associate. I was bummed out to get a draft notice. Like Mohammad Ali, I had no quarrel with the yellow man. I thought the war a huge mistake.
To beat the draft I joined a Navy Reserve unit located at the Ga. Tech campus. I joined with a good friend who said we should apply for the Seabees. We didn't know it at the time, but that was like purchasing a trip to Vietnam and being in the field with the Marine Corps. We ended up in the same squad in Vietnam.
With all this military stuff going on, it's no wonder I've gravitated toward writing techno thrillers. I guess military life is in my blood. During World War 11 my dad was a Sergeant in the Army Air Corps. He didn't make it. In 1944 the B-24 heavy bomber he was a gunner on was shot down over Germany. By a cruel twist of fate, it was on my second birthday.
My writing reflects my military experiences and thoughts about military life. Few wars are necessary. Often they take place by a series of mistakes and miscalculations. Once started there is no good or easy way out. I write about the harm war brings to so many people.
I respect the military and military families. They often face great hardship so the majority of the American public can continue with their shopping, driving around, TV watching, overeating, or whatever the current fad may be.
I respect few current politicians. Most only play to their base. Since the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, that base narrowed. Now politicians are listening only to those who write a big check. The money men, pandering politicians, and the circle of 1% elite, are the ones who send young men and women to war. I'm sure this lack of respect, and hope for a change for the better, shows up in my writing.
But, no way I'm giving up on America. As Winston Churchill once said, "The Americans will always do the right thing... after they've exhausted all the alternatives."
