About

The Writer
The first thing I ever officially wrote was in tenth grade...and it was to impress a girl. They gave our class a group assignment to record a 15-minute audiotape in the style of old radio shows (i.e. Dick Tracy) - all from original ideas. My group included the prettiest girl in the entire school (Vicki) who was the captain of the cheerleader squad. When Vicki asked if anybody had idea's for a story, I impulsively blurted out I would write the script -- even though I'd never written fiction before. It put my active imagination to the test as I wrote a horror story about a young boy who becomes enamored with his reflection in an antique full-length mirror brought home by his mom. Our recording was well received by the class, but the teacher pulled us aside afterward. She couldn't believe that the material we used to make the tape was original and wanted to know where we got it from. After we finally convinced her I had written it from scratch, she suggested that I submit it to several short story contests...which I never did. (I still carry around the story in my backpack though)

After that experience, I joined the school newspaper and made a name for myself writing sports articles, and occasionally the Editor would throw me a bone and let me write feature pieces. My favorite (and most controversial) was an article I entitled...The Art of Skipping.

Off to college (LSU) I went where I initially majored in Journalism but soon realized that career choice could prove financially challenging. I tried out more lucrative majors (changing several times until I ending up graduating in business) and my writing slowly faded into the background as I confronted the realities of GPA’s, school loans, early morning alarms and late-night dinners, heart-stopping love, dirty diapers, mortgages, coaching clinics, scholarship applications and everything else that tend to induce follicle disembarkation and enlarged prostates. It wasn’t until two of my three children had flown the coop and I found myself with spare time that "the itch" returned. All it took was a sprinkle of attention and the warmth of my interest to rekindle a decade's old love.

That was a decade ago, and the funny thing is…I feel like I’m just now hitting my stride.

I had an agent at one time, but ultimately we went our separate ways.  I'm starting from scratch again, figuring things out as I go along, but still resolute on my goals.

The Person
Born a military brat, I started this adventure surrounded by the lushness of Honolulu, Hawaii.  The beautiful surroundings didn't have much time to leave an impression on me because 11 months later our military life grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and we shuttled off to the next post. Our family was stationed generally on the east coast and hopping around every couple years became the norm. Luckily I could spend all 4 of my high school years in one location...Havelock, North Carolina. I went to college at LSU (GEAUX TIGERS) where I met my best friend and future wife. After we married we moved to Atlanta and had our first child in 1987. We quickly realized living closer to family was something we both wanted, so when our daughter came along in 1990, it was a downright must. At the time my parents lived in New Jersey and my wife's mother and step-dad lived in Arkansas. It wasn't even a contest, Arkansas it was.

We now have three children and are living comfortably in the Natural State. Nine years ago I re-discovered my affair with the written word...and here I am. In the real-world, I'm an introvert.

I S T J   (for those of who familiar with the Myers-Briggs)

Introversion
Sensing
Thinking
Judging

I'm also uber-shy (not the same thing as being introverted) and most people confuse that with being stuck up or uncaring. I'm married (luckily so) because my wife took charge during the dating process. The only place where shyness isn't a factor is when I'm online. If you want to know something else about me, just ask. I'm pretty much an open book (pardon the pun).

DL