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It's about time I share a little more for those who might find my way in here. So what do I have to say? Probably nothing more than anyone else, but I think the purpose of a blog isn't just to say, "Look at me and what I've done with my life," It also allows the reader to come back with a "Hey, Me too!" None of us are average, common, invisible. We are all special - including me. That's why I'm doing this and thanks to the age we live in the opportunity to tell others about our own accomplishments, failures and moments of survival.

So now what to share - I don't want to scare you off/bore you too soon. Hopefully if you found your way here you'll want to come back and in turn share your life with me as well. Let's see... I'm going to do a two-fold thing here. First, I'll randomly list ten things that my friends know about me. That's a good start. Second, after posting this I'll start adding pics. That's a good way to see who I was/am. Here goes

The List of Ten

 1. I was raised the youngest of five boys by both parents in Michigan.

 2. I was an Eagle Scout and so were two of my brothers.

 3. My "first time" was with an Italian ****.

 4. Marriage is a doomed to fail institution. Either divorce or death will end it. I've experienced both.

 5. I spent 14 years in the U.S. Navy and have visited over 30 countries.

 6. I write stuff. I'm published. I'm not rich.

 7. My son is my most successful accomplishment. At the end of my first marriage I was awarded custody of him (at the time he was three-years-old) and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

 8. I'm a Detroit Tiger, Detroit Lion, Houston Texan fan

 9. I haven't cut my hair in over three years. I'm not an old hippy. It is just hair.

10. Back to number 4 - Just over three years ago I lived in the Houston area. I was into the eighth year of marriage with Pam. We were together 9 years. On the 11th of February 2006 it ended. Long story - she died. The last thing we said to each other was, "I love you". I handled the funeral and when everyone went back to their lives I fell apart. For the next ten months I only left the house when I had to - when I needed food or more so alcohol. I stopped writing, stayed drunk and did a lot of crying. In October something happened while sitting on the patio (drunk and crying). It hit me that if she could see how I turned out it would have broken her heart. That was the start of my life again. I moved from the house I shared with her. I couldn't sell it and was forced to walk away from it - a $160K home and I gave it up. I moved  to a small town about 150 miles north of Houston and remained hidden, but started writing again. I sold a novella and two short stories before a publisher/friend suggested I go public again. I agreed to attend the World Horror Convention in Toronto to promote the novella. At that time I announced on my Myspace page that I would be driving the trip and asked if anyone on my route wanted to have dinner/coffee/whatever with me. Several said yes including Lisa who said she'd have dinner with me. Remember, I lived in Texas. She was here in Tennessee so I felt "safe".  I knew it would be a one-time meeting. Then we did meet. Three hours afterwards I asked if I could see her on my way back to Texas. Again she agreed - we had dinner and from that night on I either talked to her on the phone or I drove here to see her. Once we met in New Orleans for a weekend. In Nov '07 I moved here. I rented an apartment down the street, we continued to date and in Oct '08 I moved in. That's where I am now.

Note: About five months before Pam passed away we were sitting on the patio sipping wine and talking. We did that a lot and on this particular night the conversation was about what we would do if we found ourselves without the other. I told her I would fall apart and she replied, "Grieving is acceptable, falling apart is not. I want you to continue to write and I want you to live." As I mentioned above, it took me a while to get back into life again, but I know she'd be quite happy how things turned out.

Now to start adding pics - might take time.

:)

John