I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs. That left me being a Philadelphia sports fan. That led me to the love of baseball, despite what was a lot of early disappointment in the Phillies. I put my stories in and around the places I was familiar with in my youth (and early adult life). I think that makes them a little more real, to me and the reader.

Informally, I started when I was a kid, with letters, essays and school work. My professional career in auditing had me doing a ton of business writing. Formally, I started novel writing in 2008.

Nothing fancy. My laptop. My notebook. Maybe a beverage.

I started out following the "guide" books. I did the agent queries and waited. And waited. And then I found an agent who believed in the story. Fast forward 18 months and his belief ended without a book deal from a traditional publisher. In those 18 months, I wrote my second and third books and had become fully invested in it. The disappointment of being released was the drive to keep at it on my own and self-publish.

There are no boundaries when you write. You can go anywhere, be anything, do everything. You can escape from whatever problems you might think you have. There is a peace in that.

Social Media has been the most effective technique for marketing my books. Being active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and various book groups has put me in contact with fans. I've also used several giveaway promotions that had decent results (via Goodreads). My latest effort was to make my first book free on all sites. This has generated a lot of activity.

Smashwords allowed me to get my work distributed to a wide audience without a lot of effort. That I could have access to all the major eBook sites was a bonus. The process was easier than writing my stories. That, too, was a big bonus.

My fans add to the joy of writing. I'm honored every time one of my books is downloaded. Knowing someone invested in my work is humbling.

A new baseball mystery is in the works. Tentatively titled "Liars Ball" it is a story of relativity. How many lies are too many, how much money is too much, how far will someone go before they've gone too far.

I use my iPhone for e-reading. I paid enough for it. I didn't see the need to go out and get another gadget.

My day job covers most of my time. Outside of that, I enjoy a crossword puzzle to work my brain and clear out. I've recently started training for a 5K. That's been another cleansing activity. I mostly try to keep it simple.