Autobiography

I was born on March 28, 1942 in Wichita Kansas. I lived on a farm with my dad, stepmother and her family. When I was twelve, I was allowed to move to California to live with my mother and stepfather. In high school, I discovered my love for theater, so when I was sixteen, I helped organize the first summer stock theater for teens in California - Whittier Area Youth (WAY) Productions, which is still in operation today. I have always had a love for theater and for writing.

After graduating high school, I attended Los Angeles City College and majored in Performing Arts. For one and a half years, I attended seminary at La Sierra University in Riverside, California. However, the Vietnam War was being fought at the time, and I dropped out of college to join the Army as a conscientious objector medic.

Since then, I have taught English and Theater Arts in private and public education. I have been a principal and teacher for a parochial school and an administrator for a developmentally disabled program. I have written for various newspapers and, for a short time, was the senior staff writer for "Destiny," a magazine in Northern Ireland. My publishing career began via a weekly e-newsletter sent out to the 4,000+ member congregation of Southwest Community Church in California.

I now live in Atlantic, Iowa, writing for various publications, heading up The Southwest Iowa Writer's Guild, and continuing vigorous work on my current novels. My wife and our daughter, Sierra, are the loves of my life. When I'm not writing, I keep busy with "backyard missions" work in my community.


A few other facts:

• I was an actor in my earlier years (Have Gun Will Travel, Ozzie and Harriet, 77 Sunset Strip).
• My wife, Melissa, and I launched the first pro-life pregnancy help center (Birth Choice) founded in the Coachella Valley of southern California.
• I like biking, volleyball, antique restoration, and mowing my 1,1/2 acres with my John Deere.