When I was in high school I wrote a few short stories and a musical. I also wrote fiction whenever I had the chance in college. When real life stepped in, I had to put my writing aspirations to the side. I’ve only since picked up writing again about four years ago, using my pen to script screenplays, short stories, poems, novellas, novels and one book of non-fiction.

My first published book was “Wetland & Other Stories” through All Things That Matter Press. I’d self-published three books while I was in college, but those are impossible to find now.

I knew I wanted to write a mystery, but the thing was, what could I bring to the table that hadn’t been seen before? I’d originally wanted to write a book of interviews I’d conducted with dead geniuses, but when I say a book like that had been published, I figured I could still integrate my interview idea into a murder mystery. Once I had the “who, what, when, where, why and how” of the story worked out, it was just a matter of filling in all those blanks. Some stories write themselves once a set up has been established; “Murder” was one of them. Because the setting was Heaven, certain characters and elements came built in, such as angels and demons. As a mystery, it’s a fairly standard “whodunit’” in that I utilize a detective and his partner who look for clues. Outside of that, because of the nature of the setting (the afterlife and deceased rock stars), it gets pretty wild.

The detective, Gregory Angelicus, has some of my personality. He takes his work seriously even though he can clown around sometimes. Also, he’s very questioning and takes nothing for granted. His curiosity also seems boundless. I’m like that, too.