|
 who
am I?
I've asked myself that question on a number of occasions so I'll
answer the facts I'm sure of first. I'm in my mid fifties
and will cling to that until I hit sixty. I'm a newcomer to
Eugene Oregon, having lived previously in New Mexico,
Wisconsin, Colorado, and Illinois. I'm a die hard Cubs fan
and over the years I've found that no matter where I hang my
hat, there are few things that make me happier than
creating.
My first serious stab at creating
came when I was growing up
on Chicago's Southwest Side and found a broken guitar in a trash
bin. I retrieved it, repaired it with duct tape, and began
writing songs. I still play the guitar and still find duct
tape a remarkable tool.
In 1969, I left Chicago to earn a degree in Graphic Design from
Southern Illinois University. Instead of jumping right into
the profession when I returned home, I bought an unbroken
guitar and performed in bars and clubs around the city. In a
few years, that desire ran its course and I spent the next
three decades doing what graphic artists do.
 As
art director for Pathotox Publishers, I was involved in the
production of the Journal of Irreproducible Results
and the Journal of Environmental Pathology and Toxicology
along with various other publications. The publishing
knowledge I acquired there added fuel to my already too
active imagination. I self-published a book of poems and
drawings called Jelly Side Down*, a book on basic car
repair called Glove Box Guide to Keeping it on the Road,
and co-authored a book with my cat Xena, called The Way
of the Cat: Teaching Humans to Be**. I really did
co-author the book, but Xena thought it best to have only a
feline author listed.
During my years as a graphic artist, I began oil painting,
working with pastels and other media, equally fulfilling
forms of art. You can
see a few samples. One thing has remained clear, creating is as much a part of me
as breathing.
At the age of fifty-three, partly due to a mild mid-life crisis
and partly because of brain numbing politics, I started to
write mysteries. I have completed three in the Chicago
Police Detective Kerry Grant series,
Identity Murder, Should Old Acquaintance be Dead,
and
A Chilling Goodbye, and I'm currently working on the
fourth, Bidder Regrets. I have also written six
standalone mysteries, and recently released The Woman in
the Wing. I'm excited about all my books, but I adored
writing and researching this one.
 My
life has been a series of
creative endeavors. For me, that works best. It was with surprise
and delight I found the weaving of stories the most
satisfying.
Here's mom giving me a few tips on my writing and other
parts of my life
Photo by RH
Sheldon |
