About Me

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I started working as a writer a little more than five years ago, after I sold my company and wound down my "professional" career. It wasn't retirement, exactly, as I quickly jumped into launching and managing a tea house in Minneapolis with my youngest son. His passion. Still, after years of writing essays and remembrances, working on my first novel - The Twitter Gospels - became the anchor to my days and, eventually writing became a big part of my self-identity rather than something I occassionally did.

Now working on my second novel, called Isaac the Jew, I'm see a pattern unfolding. A style that's developing, centered on the intersection between history, science and culture on the one hand, and my attempts to create a fictional thread that ties them all into an interesting story on the other. It happens that religion is front and center in both of these first two books, though I genuinely think that's coincidence. Really.

Meanwhile, meet Zucca. Our loveable 'doodle.

Do I have a process to my writing? I suppose it's a bit like corporate culture. It happens whether you like it or not. 

My first novel, The Twitter Gospels, took five years to write and the first fifty or so pages took roughly two years. Not only did I not really have a story to tell, but I also didn't have any discipline. I didn't know what it was to be a writer. Eventually, though, I did what every writer's guide tells aspiring writers to do. Write. Just write and the story will unfurl. Harder than it sounds.

I wish I could say that I had created character profiles or developed a story outline, but no. I simply wrote and allowed each chapter to emerge without truly knowing where it would go or how it would get there. But then, about two years in, something flipped. Characters developed in a more interesting and intentional way, the story had an arc and I realized I had found an approach that merged research (thank you Wikipedia), outlining, and writing. 

Now well into my second novel, I'm feeling much better prepared and organized. I've  developed a detailed character profile for the Isaac himself, and have the first quarter of the story outlined. As a result, I'm quickly into the flow of writing the early chapters. 

I'm targeting two years to write Isaac the Jew. 

I like my odds.

I have had a varied career, to say the least. I started as an academic in the psychology department at the University of Minnesota, before concluding (incorrectly, I realize now) that I was misplaced. I stepped into an IT strategy role in a multinational company before realizing (correctly) I needed a smaller setting. I raced through a series of tech start-ups and even managed to sell a few of them (possibly too early) as my attention wandered once the companies progressed from start-up energy to disciplined operations. I did business strategy consulting and then, after spending a few years as an executive recruiter with my wife, announced my retirement and turned to writing. 

The fact is, despite decent success at every career stop, I never felt like I had found my calling. I was rarely energized by my work, always felt a bit out of place (imposter) and was always looking for the next thing to do. That is, until I started writing.

Writing, I've discovered, calls upon every part of who I am and incorporates, in some form, everything I've done professionally and personally. It feels as if everything until now was preparation for writing. Six years in, and a second novel on the way, the sense that I'm doing exactly what I'm meant to be doing is stronger than ever.

 
Whew.