I can very clearly recall my middle-school years spending quiet summers at my grandmother’s house. This was when pencil to paper really caught fire. I wrote so much that I had to soak my writing hand in hot water to soothe it, and even sit with my hand stuffed beneath my rear-end, flattened, to hopefully ease the pain. My grandmother also owned an old steel-cased typewriter, which I one day discovered. It was heavy and cumbersome to move. I clearly remember that if I pressed a bunch of the keys at once, the striking arms would entangle in a cobwebby mess, which I found somewhat amusing. But nevertheless, I distinctly remember the clack, clack, clack of the keys, and—don’t laugh—me writing a short story on this typewriter called ‘Cyber Bros.’

By high school, there was no hope for me, academically. I was living in a completely alternate universe of fantasy. Sure, my physical body attended high school, but mentally I wasn’t there at all. I moved from classroom to classroom, with my head down in the back, jotting notes and stories. My senior year I was writing the campaign of a young woman named ‘Dorothy Daines,’ who would eventually evolve into the character of ‘Evon Dagmire.’ Fortunately, I managed to graduate from my senior year of high school with a 1.4 GPA. Yup. Believe me, that was the best possible outcome.

But it didn’t stop there, folks. Once I joined the work force, I began writing on the company’s dime. By this time, I was switching between computer work programs to write electronically while I was supposed to be working. I remember one of my supervisors witnessing this and asking me “What, are you writing a book?” to which I simply answered ‘Yes,’ and she gave me a sour look. This would have been my book entitled: ‘Northern Star.’ I was fired from that job, and several others.

In 2009 I discovered a book by author Gregory Maguire titled: ‘Wicked: The life and times of the wicked witch of the west,’ and was I completely enthralled. I wanted to write a book just like this! This endeavor became everything to me. And my result was ‘The Lady Wind.’

It took me a couple of years to craft this story, and it was nearly completed when my life turned completely upside down. My marriage was ending and I was a stay-at-home dad with no money. Hardships aside, I managed to complete the book. Then something even more terrible happened. I became completely despondent about my writing, and I placed The Lady Wind on a high dark shelf in the back of the closet. There, it would sit for years. Thirteen years, in fact. Now and then the book would come to mind, but I forcefully shoved it back, vowing never to return to my writing.

Years later, something wondrous happened. Out of nowhere, some mysterious force outside of myself shoved open the doors of my mind and nearly demanded that I pick up The Lady Wind again. There was no question concerning the matter. I was going to see the project to fulfillment now. To this day, I still don’t know what that outside force was, but I am grateful for its intervention, and the fact that I’m writing all this about myself while in the final stretches of realizing this dream of mine.