Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was blessed with a loving and nurturing family, and we are still very close. I earned two college degrees and served in the U.S. Army Airborne Rangers. I had two successful careers and a marriage to the same wonderful woman for 44 years. We had two awesome children and I now have four grandchildren who are all in high school now.
I feel I have experienced every emotion life has to offer, including love, dedication and death. After my wife’s passing, I started writing to fill the void and to record everything I hold dear. I have written two complete novels that include all the love I have known.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first novel is entitled, He Never Forgot How to Love. It is available on Amazon.com and it contains the best and the worst of my life.
My second novel is entitled, Yeah, Ben? I contains my conviction to what love can be and what it can accomplish.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often spend days trying to make two paragraphs work. Other times, the story flows faster than I can keep up. Those are the times I write into the wee hours of the morning. And, if I can bring a tear to my eye, I know I am on the right track.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Book: Forest Gump
What are you working on now?
I am working on a third novel that follows the family saga of the first two books. My Mom loved them, and I want to give her one more.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am new to the game of publishing. I follow the lead of my publisher, Black Rose Writing.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write from the heart. And remember that one can write from the heart only if the heart has lived it. If writing ceases to be fun, if it becomes a labor without love, take up bowling.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t wish to be 21. Don’t hope to be 30 something. Don’t long for retirement. Live today for all it’s worth and be surprised by tomorrow.
What are you reading now?
My writing does not leave a lot of time for reading. These days, I try to keep up on current events and measure them against the vast history of truths.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will continue to write for my Mom. She can’t wait for the next chapter. If I never have a book become a best-seller, I will always have a best fan.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. My Bible
2. Profiles of Courage by John F. Kennedy.
3. Of Mice and Men by Ernest Hemingway
4. My Journal of life as I knew it