Why I Started Writing:

As a child, my nightly ritual included my parents reading to me. Whether it was their presence, the colors and characters in the story books, or the flights into imaginary worlds, the result was the same—I fell in love with words and how they could transport me. As much as I enjoyed playing out-of-doors when it was “lights-out” at bedtime, I grabbed my flashlight, often a Hardy Boys mystery, and under the covers read until my eyes grew heavy with sleep. I drew cartoons with heroes and villains, and later in school welcomed writing assignments, using words to tell stories rather than cartoon figures. Throughout high school, college, and graduate studies my passion for words remained a staple. Twenty years ago, I embraced that passion and decided to write. In 2015, with a reluctant leap of faith and much assistance from great editors, I created the website www.yourreluctantdisciple.com and have been writing posts for it ever since. From that writing practice came the needed “push” to write my first book, and here I am.

Authors Who Have Influenced Me:

Early on in my adult reading life, Raphael Sabatini, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens were among my favorite authors. As my tastes and subsequent choices expanded, various religious writers—Lewis Smedes, Philip Yancey, Frederick Buechner, and Henri Nouwen—held a special place in my spiritual journey. From the early days of reading the Hardy Boys, mystery writers have continued to live on my bookshelves. Agatha Christie, Mary Roberts Rinehart and Earle Stanley Gardner were early favorites, followed by Stephen King, Jo Nesbo, Tana French, Henning Mankell, and James Lee Burke. Stieg Larsson died too soon but left three compelling novels for us to read. When I want a good laugh, I read Carl Hiaasen.

Books I Have Written:

My doctoral dissertation was published as a chapter in a medical text—long since dated and [thankfully] archived. Faith, Doubt, and Listening: Lessons Learned By A Reluctant Disciple is my first published book.

What I'm Working On Now:

The working title of my next book is a work of fiction: The Diary of a Psychotherapist’s Soul. It’s a revealing look into the soul of a man who had the privilege of being invited into his clients’ lives—he too is a human being struggling to find his way.