I came to writing late in life after teaching philosophy and economics for many years, followed by a stint in information technology designing websites and doing system administration. I have focused on writing for the last ten years or so. It’s the most rewarding work I’ve done in my life.
Most of my stories fit into the mystery/crime category. I write about characters working through morally complex situations as they cope with crime.
Two of my short stories won honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest Annual Contest (“The Wetsuit Solution” and “Semper Fi”). Another, “Feuds,” won a competition sponsored by The Weekly Knob, an online publication. (The Weekly Knob has now morphed into Hinged.) “Feuds” along with several other stories that were published on The Weekly Knob became the core of For Love of a Father, one of the three novels I am revising and preparing for release.
Many of my stories and two of my novels-in-progress center in the fictional city of Maasdam, Ohio and follow a core cast. Marieke, with a philosophy major from Oberlin, is Meat & Deli Manager at Good’s Supermarket. Phil, Marieke’s debate partner from Oberlin, is the best defense attorney in the Cleveland/Akron area. Andre is a detective on the Maasdam PD. John is the pastor of the local Dutch Calvinist church. Other regulars include Kat, Marieke’s best friend growing up in Maasdam and now a police detective in SoCal. In “The Wetsuit Solution,” Kat struggles with a conflict between “justice” and “the law.”
Maasdam, located about 15 miles south of Cleveland’s Hopkins Airport, was settled in the late 19th and early 20th century by immigrants from the Netherlands and still shows the influences of those early residents.
A number of my stories are available on this site or online at medium.com.
I think I may hold the world record for number of peanut butter sandwiches eaten over a lifetime.