Introduction

This blog is an exciting new forum for me to interact with my readers. As a self-published author my intent is to discuss and expound on my books, my life, and about the world around us. Real soon I hope to have my new website up and running, where I’ll post short-stories and essays, so as to give people a better understanding of who I am. I know that some writers enjoy discussing private moments in their forums, but I can’t promise too much of that─I’m a very private person. That being said, writing is very important to me. I dabble in essays and short -stories, but for me, a novel is the quintessential expression of humanity’s interaction with itself. The characters are people we know, people who have helped us to better know ourselves. If you don’t already know─then you will when you sample my writing─I write about organized crime, corruption, and man’s darker side. maybe we share some of the same opinions or fundamental beliefs, have held the same victories or pains, and maybe we laugh about the same things. I’m looking forward to reader participation, as I hope to bring you opinions, views, and feelings into my work as I continue to grow as a writer.

What I care about most: Humanity. It might seem overly general. Maybe people would expect me to say to family, or friends, or if they’ve read my work─wealth or power. I admit, my subject matter is dark. But only because I am one who has literally had to walk through the darkness to find the light. I’ve spent a lot of time around suffering─poverty, drug and alcohol addictions, victims of violence, child neglect and abuse─and the general indifference that surrounds so much of it. I’ve seen and lived with these problems throughout the United States, and Mexico, and it has turned my way of thinking upside down so many times that I feel I’ve had to literally reinvent myself more than once just to cope with the magnitude by which so many suffer. Like many, for a time, I was indifferent to the many facets of human suffering. But as it so often happens, the universe shifted and I was no longer holding a winning hand. In what felt like waking to a horrid nightmare I lost a wife and daughter─my life at the time─in an instant. An event that forever altered the trajectory of my life. The wealth, the power, and the persona that had occupied such a high pedestal in my life became as meaningless to me as life itself. Finding the motivation to continue onward became as onerous as breathing through a coffee straw. I suddenly realized that I wasn’t better than anyone else; fundamentally, I was as vulnerable to life’s vicissitudes as the next; maybe more so. My loss, however, served a greater purpose─if there is such a thing. Everyone’s life has tough moments. But the happiness we experience and share in overcoming these moments far outweighs the pain, the sorrow, and the worry. I have learned to be uplifted by my failures, as much, if not more, than by my triumphs. Some would call it fruitless and baneful to have spent so much time contemplating what is no longer and forever past. I disagree. We can surely move on, but it is futile to believe that we can ever truly forget. The past has led us to the present moment, and will always be an unrelenting reminder of where and who we have been. Both the past and the present serve as stepping-stones to our futures; one is the beacon that warns while the other is the rudder that guides. Together they ensure our continual forward progress. Without one or the other we would merely be adrift in the sea of life, shipwrecked without hope of rescue.

As many of you are undoubtably aware, there are few things harder than losing a loved one─much less two. My loss, however, has opened my eyes to an inexplicable truth: like death, loss is part of life. Adversity has become a good friend. One who has taught me the value of humility, and the joy of compassion.

I live a very secluded life. By immersing myself in my subject matter I hope to bring authenticity to my writing. Doing so is dangerous, I realize, but it’s what I hope will set me apart from others in my genre. Which is partly why I’ve chosen the avenue of self-publication over a large publishing house. Publicity tours, book signing sessions, or any public exposure would be counterintuitive to my agenda as a writer. I interact with dangerous people, people who trust me, and though my writing might very well incite them to treat me differently, I continue to strive onward. I hope that as my readers you will understand and appreciate this.