Everything I’ve learned about writing has grown from my love of reading. I began my writing career at the tender age of seven, when I wrote a play for my third-grade class. It was not an assignment; I did it because I discovered I loved creative writing as much as I loved reading. I received a children’s typewriter the next year, and countless short stories followed. I wrote some awful poetry during my teen years, then some not-so-awful short stories over the next two decades. I became serious about writing books ten years ago. The timing felt right, and I created the world-altering habit of writing every day. My first published novel, Secrets Under the Mesa, began as a short story. I decided it had some legs and went with it. The inspiration for The Troop of Shadows Chronicles emerged from two directions: my love of post-apocalyptic fiction and a recent interest in disaster preparedness. Stephen King says, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” The hard work is worth it. I hope you enjoy my novels. I wrote them for fellow book lovers just like you.