I am a multi-trauma survivor, a Mental Health Advocate, Living with Bipolar Disorder (diagnosed after 20-year career in the Navy), Father of 3, Grandfather of 3. I take pride in being honest, loyal, honourable, and mostly selfless. I am the last to buy me anything and the first to give you the shirt off my back. I grew up in a small town of Kelso, Washington, USA. Kelso was an American Football town where everyone knows each other and on game days the local stores/shoppes closed down. I grew up poor, living off of government assistance. My mother was single, a hippie, and had a secret addiction to pills. It was a quiet and simple life. My grandparents were old fashion. My grandfather worked at a local lumber mill. My uncles, respectively, were truck drivers/Machinists.
Around the age of 10, I became familiar with a man whom would be my stepfather. This was a turning point in my life. The simple life turned violent & drugs were apart of my home. My mother married him, obviously, and I inherited a dysfunctional pregnant teen sister and an abusive stepbrother whom later went to prison for child molestation. It was a struggle growing up dodging the emotional/physical abuse. I had 3 friends that kept me going. They were the rock in my life that kept me grounded and stable. I wrote a book series “The Secret Life” (4 books) about them and my life. Though it is fiction, the emotions and some events are true. I am now known for being an eclectic author writing Horror, Thriller, Crime-Drama, Paranormal, and Literary Coming of Age Tales.
Around age 23, after I had started a family of my own, I joined the United States Navy. I did a very successful and highly decorated 20 years but toward the end (due to combat and past issues) I succumbed to 2 suicide attempts. I died in the ER but successfully revived (5 days in ICU and in an induced coma). When I awoke, my life had changed forever. I spent years of therapy trying to deal with my past and the meds didn’t help. It was my books that saved me. After going holistic in my approach to getting better, I am much happier. I live a normal life.
My current path has unfolded to be an advocate to #EndChildAbuse. My predator is now deceased, and my mother and I don’t talk. I started over. My kids, grandkids and I are very close. I am a good person living with trauma and bipolar disorder. I have my days but knowing that I have purpose helps me be a better person. My books are a way to express my imagination and a venue to speak truths. My books are different in the fact that I think of myself as an artist crafting something I would want to read. I take pride in the suspense I put in them, the touching and endearing moments, the pain, the love, the anguish, the horror, etc.. I have been told my stories transport you there like you are in a movie or really living amongst my thoughts. I am grateful for being alive. I am grateful for having a voice for the voiceless. I am mostly grateful for having a chance to meet all of you and get to know who you are. You mean the world to me. Be blessed and Be Kind. Remember, respect one another no matter race, gender, sexual orientation, political ideology, or religious beliefs. We are all human.