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*AUTHOR INTERVIEW 1 2 3 4 5 Posted on*
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~~~AUTHOR BIO~~~
I was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1953. New Bedford was home to Herman Melville, author of 'MOBY DICK.' I believe that the first paragraph of 'MOBY DICK' is the best first paragraph of any novel I have ever read.
My father moved our family around the country nine times. I spent many good years, and many difficult ones growing up. Both the good and the bad contribute to my writing. While in high school in Bucks County Pennsylvania, I began to gravitate away from academics, and more toward the arts. I went to art school for painting, and later studied at Boston University.
Out of money, I transferred back to Pennsylvania, where I took a job as a cabinet-maker in a small Amish shop. While I earned minimum wage, I learned a valuable trade that would carry me for many years to come. After a year and a half at the cabinet job, I left to finish my schooling. In 1976, I graduated with my teaching degree and taught cabinetry for two years, before starting my own business in mid 1980. During that period, I married and was blessed with a beautiful daughter, and five years later, a beautiful son.
My business went on to grow and prosper, although it had its ups-and-downs, like all small businesses. But after thirty years, it still existed. By the time I sold the business, it had transformed itself from a cabinet shop to a design house, with about twenty employees. We specialized in the design and installation of architectural cabinetry for the entire residence.
The selling process was a tumultuous time for me. It was during that time period that I began to work on my novel, 'GoneAway.' I was not going to undertake the project, but I believe that my family realized that I needed a diversion from the weight of my problems in selling the business, so they prodded me to begin writing, something they all knew that I wanted to do.
I loved the process of writing the very minute I started. 'GoneAway' took three and a half years to complete. It is loosely based on a childhood story I told my children, when they were very young. They never forgot the story, and encouraged me to write it down for posterity. But, I could not write a children's story. It's just not me. My story had to involve more of an adult theme. The process was daunting, but I let it go on, never rushing it, and never feeling as if I was under any kind of a deadline. When it was finished, I had it read by two professional editors, who helped me to polish it up, and get it ready for publication. It took almost a year to find a publisher, but I did. Then, I began to work on my next novel, 'Beneath The Quarry Waters.'
Today, I live with my wife in Pennsylvania. Our two children are grown, and we are proud of them. My children and my wife have been a huge inspiration to me.
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