Unlike many writers, I can’t lay claim to wanting to be a writer all my life, although my mother and seventh grade English teacher were convinced I had what it would take. Armed with a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Engineering with a major in Bio-Medical Engineering, I went on to medical school at the University of Cincinnati followed by a residency in Emergency Medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center. Ultimately, I served tours as the Chief, Emergency Medical Services at Fort Campbell, KY and as a research Flight Surgeon at Fort Rucker, AL. Who had time to write?
By the late 1990s, my professional and family life had settled down, somewhat, and my mother once again took up her mantra, “Write a book. You’re a good writer.” She was a pro, keeping her taunts to just often enough to fall short of nagging. Still, with no experience in writing anything other than technical articles, I hesitated to try my hand at fiction. Things changed in 1997 when the local newspaper held a writing contest for Valentine’s Day. Out of 1100 entries, making it to the top five finalists shocked me, and I realized that maybe this writer’s gig had something to it after all. Now, I continue to write because I truly enjoy it.
Over the following fifteen years, I took the time to learn the craft of writing through local writers’ groups, seminars, critique groups and more. I put together my first novels, which won’t see the light of day, but the experience ultimately drove me to seek the help of a real editor. From that collaboration came The Militant Genome(2012), my debut publication. Indebted(©January 2013) came next and has been well received. My third and fourth novels, Looks that Deceive(2013) and Rescued and Remembered(2013) began what is now my eight-book MedAir Series that includes The Silenced Shooter(2014), Wrongfully Removed(2015), A Zealot’s Destiny (2016), A Kidnapped Nation (2017), The Khmer Connection (2019), and Resurrected Trouble (2020). Also in 2017, I completed a novella, Ten Seconds ’til…, as part of a 10-author box set. With the end of that limited-time box set, the story became the second A Seamus O’Connor Thriller, of which The Militant Genome is book one.
Upon completion of the MedAir Series, I began a new series, the Still Here! Series, with The End Begins (2021). As a student of the Bible, I’ve studied eschatology (the End Times) and the Book of Revelation for years. Part of what I’ve learned, I presented in non-fiction study guides titled Still Here! Surviving the End Times (2019) and Still Here! The Apocalypse is Now (2021). The information in that book, along with what I continue to learn about the Book of Revelation, forms the backbone of this new series. Most recently, I published Still Here! Countdown Revelation: Looking at Revelation through the Lens of Today’s Events. Researching that has been eye-opening. We’re smack dab in the midst of John’s prophecies and few recognize that. Since The End Begins, I’ve released The Shaking (2022), The Beasts (2023), The Trumpets (2023), and The Mark (2024).
2024 also marked the release of my first children’s book, The Toucan Who Can Can-can, in collaboration with our daughter, Stacey Cofiori. It’s amazing what grandchildren can lead you into.
Twenty-five-plus years after that first hesitant start, I can’t find enough time to write all the stories floating in my head. My wife and I moved from Missouri in 2018, where we lived for the past 32 years, and I now realize why “moving” is #6 on the list of life’s most stressful events. Our two children are grown and with three adult grandchildren and two young ones to continue Grandparenting 2.0, this “Papa” wears a number of hats. And my “free” time, I enjoy woodworking as another creative outlet.