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Gale
Bob, Joey, Sean & Tracy
Nicole, Autumn, Seanae, Moriah & Tiana
Beamish & Guinness | Bio Short Version: For those of you, who like me, tend to skim. I started writing in 1990. After several years of study, and attending writer's workshops, I entered a couple of short stories in writers' contests. I'm happy to say they were favorably received. I started work on The Homeboy in 1996. My wife, Gale, and I live in Seattle with our two cats, Guinness and Beamish. We enjoy going to plays, good food, bold red wine, and music. I personally love baseball, and try to get in the occasional round of golf. Longer Version of the Bio: For those of you who are gluttons for punishment. I got started writing, almost by mistake, in 1990. I had tried to convince Gale to retire in Europe, and I was looking for a second career that would transfer easily to another country (I was hoping for Ireland or Italy). I made a long list, then began to whittle it down based on too much money, or too much hard work. To this day, I'm not sure what caused me to put author on the list, but I did and that was what was left when I finished eliminating other ideas. Little did I know how much work, albeit mental, is involved in writing. Like many new authors, I thought I would simply sit down and dash off a novel, send it to some publishers, and get my hair cut in anticipation of my appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show. As my hair grew longer, the rejections rolled in. While I waited for the rejections, I began to acquire a dozen, or so books on the craft and business of writing, written by authors, publishers, editors, and agents. By the time I had read the fifth or sixth book, I knew how terrible that first effort had been. It wasn't even a novel, but rather my take on the ills of the world, and of course the solutions. To this day I live in dread that I may someday meet one of the people to whom I sent that work, and worse, they will remember me as the one who wrote it. I continued to read and study, and attending several workshops in the Seattle area. One of the recommendations for learning to write a tight story was to produce some short stories. I did this, and finally, in 1996, I got up the nerve to enter one in what then was called the Pacific Northwest Writer's Conference. I finished in the top ten and received a certificate. Early the next year I entered another story in Writer's Digest and received an honorable mention. These events encouraged me to continue, suggesting that I was on the right track. The Homeboy came about as a result of my eldest son, Joey, bugging me to write my memoirs. His mother and I divorced when he, his sister Tracy, and brother Sean, were still quite young. While I was near them as they grew, and we spent time together, he made the point that he had never set and listened to the stories of my life, or even my political points of view, as you might in a nuclear family sitting around the dinner table. After major surgery in 1995, I decided he might have something, and sat down to write my story for him, Tracy, and Sean, before I went belly-up. When I was done, I gave a copy to each of the children, to my to older brothers, Bill and Bob, and to some friends in the mid-west who had helped me gather some material. I certainly didn't think my life very intersting, but it caused something of stir on several fronts, and suggestions that I produce it as an autobiography. I was not convinced that my personal story held the elements for a good novel, but it did become the basis for The Homeboy. I was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1942. My father left the family, and by age five I was in The Omaha Home for Boys. To this day, I'm not sure where my mother went, but she came back into my life around age thirteen. I left the home when I was fifteen to live with her and my step-father. I'm happy to say that, unlike Mickey Cavan, the main character in my novel, my life at the home is made up of pleasant memories. What I might have missed in terms of the bonding that goes on in a "normal" homelife, I'll never know, but looking back, I had a good childhood. After my divorce, I married my wife, Gale, and we moved to Seattle in 1978. We have no children together, but Gale has become a superb step-grandmother to my five beautiful granddaughters, Seanae, Autumn, Nicole, Tiana, and Moriah. Gale and I attend several theaters as season subscribers. We love good food and wine, although our thickening bodies have caused us to try to temper our appetites. We also enjoy music and attending ethnic festivals, art, the zoo, and our two cats, Guinness and Beamish. On a personal note, I love baseball, and try to get in a round of golf when I can find the time. So there you have the longer version. Thank you for visiting this page, and if you are a writer, or are thinking of becoming a writer, you might find the next page of interest. Just click on the "Links" button to get there. On the left are four pictures of my family. The top one is my wife, Gale. The next photo is moi, then my brother Bob, sons Joey and Sean, and daughter Tracy in front. The next shot is of my five granddaughters, clockwise from upper left, Nicole, Autumn, Seanae, Moriah, and Tiana. The bottom picture is of our two cats, Beamish in back, and Guinness in the front. |
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