I am a writer and occasional web designer currently living in Big Sky country (Montana). This is about the fourth iteration of this blog. I have started and restarted the blog a few times as interests have evolved. Of course, there is a good argument for leaving all of the old content as it demonstrates an author’s changing interests. However, I had structured the previous sites in such a way that it seemed better to start from scratch. This version of the blog was born in early 2010.
My first literary efforts were undertaken while I was still a child. I recall typing short stories on my father’s Smith-Corona electric typewriter. I would then “sell” my short stories to any nearby relative for five or ten cents. Several years later I began work on my first novel, Treasure Mountain. I count it among my many blessings that the Treasure Mountain manuscript is long since lost as I would no doubt be horrified to have anyone read it today!
Despite my long interest in writing, and strong encouragement from college writing professors, my writing career developed almost accidentally as a result of my computer career. My first professional writing project came about while I was working as a computer programmer for a “dot com” start-up during 1999-2000. I was tasked with co-authoring the user manual for the software program we were developing. The manual ended up being more than 200 pages long when it was finished, and I discovered that I enjoyed technical writing more than computer programming. I went on to pursue a career in web design where I found myself writing content for nearly every site I designed. Once again, I enjoyed the writing more than the technical work. I finally started writing for fun (and very little profit) in 2006 when I discovered easy web publishing thanks to blog software. Soon after this I compiled my best clips and applied for a writing job with a community newspaper. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since 2006 I have been working as a writer – both as a freelancer and as a news reporter. I have loved to write since I was a child when I used to compose short stories which I would then sell to family members. Blogging encouraged me to write more because it was so easy to publish and gain an audience. I also began working for The Eagle Newspaper in Cambridge NY during 2006 and continued with them until I relocated to Montana. I covered local government, schools, and community news.
I have been using computers since I was a teenager, have been working with computers professionally since 1990 when I was employed as a mainframe computer operator, and have been building websites since 1998. I worked as an application developer during the dot com boom. I discovered blogging in 2006 (somewhat belatedly, I know) and immediately recognized the power of simple publishing. For someone who had hand-coded websites for years blogs made publishing very simple indeed.
I am a Bible College graduate and have served on the pastoral staff at several churches in Upstate NY and northwestern Montana. I also served as an itinerant minister for more than 15 years and provided pulpit supply to many churches. I have a long-standing interest in cross-cultural and international ministry and am considering options to explore once my kids are grown. The power and potential of the Internet and social media for ministry purposes is another interest that I am currently considering.
I have composed a somewhat brief, auto-biographical sketch for those who would like to read more about me.
