It wasn't until I hit my 40's that I discovered my God-given talent for the written word. I'm not totally clear on how the first book came about. I wrote it in 1992. I think it was on a dare. I had been working as a General Manager in the retail automotive business, and a colleague suggested that someone should write an intelligent guide on how to buy a car and beat the dealer at his own game. It was a challenge that beckoned me, and for some reason the whole idea excited me. With pen in hand--I didn't own an early computer or word processor back then--I wrote the entire book longhand. I tackled this undertaking without an outline or even the most remote idea how this book would unfold. My approach was totally unorganized and unconventional. I just started writing, and the chapters poured out of my head. I could barely keep pace with my thoughts and ideas. For fear a fresh idea would fade to oblivion, I often had to stop writing long enough to scribble notes about a new idea that popped into my head.

To date, Amazon Publishing has published three of my novels: They Never Die Quietly, Resuscitation, and I Do Solemnly Swear. The three books combined have sold 150,000 copies worldwide. I'm not yet hanging up there with the big guns--not even close--but for a skinny kid who nearly flunked English in high school, I think I've done pretty well.

Hypocrisy, my fourth novel was released March of 2014, and A Piece of You, novel number five, should be released later this year. The moral of the story? If you have a passion for writing, don't let rejection hold you back or discourage you. Persevere and remember that rejection is a prerequisite to success. Keep those fingers poised above the keyboard and write, write, write.