This site is about writing, and soldiers. I served worldwide while assigned to elite units. I had the honor and opportunity to travel extensively, especially throughout the Americas and Europe. I've lived in Central America as both a soldier and civilian, and did freelance work for the US prior to the invasion of Panama. These rich experiences have allowed me to write more realistically. I can remember going through a certain situation and thinking, "this is something that should be remembered."
There are a lot of injustices that take place in the Americas, things that you'll never read in a newspaper. There are many people, civilians mostly, a part of the underground that are fighting right now to free the oppressed. My wife, who is Panamanian, lost two cousins along the Panamanian - Colombian border, killed by narco-terrorists. I wanted to bring these problems to light with my first work of fiction, The Southern Cross. The story is gritty, and brutally realistic.
My second book, Day of the Ranger, began to emerge in the mid-nineties. I knew ever since my ranger buddy Randy Shughart, (Medal of Honor, Somalia) was killed in Mogadishu, that I would dedicate a book to him. And in doing so, it would be a story about Somalia, and the return to Somalia. It's also a story about friendships forged in the Ranger Battalion, and how Some Battles Never End.
Through the winding, cobblestone lanes and quaint parks of Casco Viejo, Panama, Copper Penny materialized. I watched the street vendors, especially the raspadors as they served snow cones or cold drinks to anyone that had the money. You never knew who would be stopping by. It might be the President of the Republic, a General, or a peasant. Mostly, it was the poor. The one thing they all had in common was the price. The rich paid with nickels and dimes. The “shirtless ones” paid with copper pennies. There was always loose talk on the streets, and one raspador in particular seemed to know when the next riot would start--or even a coup d’etat. If he stopped selling early, especially with ice left over, you knew something explosive was about to happen.
Writing is a passion I have that surpasses just about anything else. It's very lonely. You spend hours away from family and friends, up late at night, searching for just the right word, the right sentence, the perfect paragraph, and it's never good enough. Keep at it and keep writing. That's what writers do.
I would appreciate any comments you have on my site, my writing, or your writing.