In 1989, my career as a poice officer started with the Havre de Grace police where I worked as a patrol officer. Learning that the Baltimore County Police Department offered better pay and benefits, I became employed with them in 1991. My ambition was always to work as a homicide detective, so I worked as a patrol officer seeking to land in an investigative unit as a detective. In 1995, I was assigned as a precinct detective and strove to do the best job I could. In 1997, I applied for the Criminal Investigation Division (in headquarters) and was assigned to the Sex Crimes Unit, Robbery Unit, and eventually the Homicide Unit.

As a homicide detective I found the task exhausting, but rewarding. I had no intentions to write about these experiences until years later when I connected with John Riddle (founder of I Love to Write Day) who guiding me in my writing adventure. By then, I was already approached by the Forensic Files TV show who learned about my investigation in the murder of Wesley Person (December 23, 2005). The show eventually produced an episode of the investigation (Season 13, episode 30, "Dollars & Sense:). The same production company returned to me in 2017 with a new show concept, Murder Decoded, and reproduced the Welsey Person investigation. It aired in April 2019 in Season 1, episode 4, "Revenge with a Bullet".

Having exprienced life as a homicide detective and seeing how the victim's names become statistics, I wanted to share with people the hard work and tenacity investigators put into these investigations to find the killers. With a little direction from John Riddle, my writing career was off to a good start!

My next release, A Life of Crime, is an autobiography covering my entire police career and the realities police officers face when working the beat. It is a revealing read that demonstrates how the criminal justice system is broken and how I've come to embrace a new philosophy on justice. Currently, the proof copy is out to my beta readers. I am hoping for a June 2020 release!

I previously worked with the Forensic Files and Murder Decoded television shows with my murder investigation of Wesley Person and published this information on my LinkedIn profile. The network found me from my writings and my profiles and asked if I would audition for the show. I completed the audition in December 2019 and was invited to return. I appear on this subscribtion streaming network about once every two weeks and provide my expertise as it pertains to the criminal trials being aired. Recently, I provided analysis on the New York v. Harvey Weinstein case.

Without question, the most influencial author in my life is J.R.R. Tolkien. When I was a middle school student my English teacher realized I had a reading deficiency. I was removed from class and work independently with a teacher's aid. She realized that if the topic was not of interest to me I would just skim over the words. To resolve the issue we found a book series to help develop my reading skills, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. My parents bought the paperbacks and I read through them ferociously. I've been a fan ever since and try to read through the series about once a year.

When I was a high school student I never imagined myself as an author or even a scholar, holding a Ph.D. In fact, I would have laughed at you had you told me I would be accomplished in either of these areas. Always having an interest in law enforcement and now seeing how the system is broken and needs correction, I am driven by the idea of criminal justice reform through a concept known as restorative justice. I am an advocate for RJ and have recently worked with legislators in my state to improve the RJ laws and its implementation into the system.

I am also driven by those investigations where justice is elusive. My homicide series (Walking Among the Dead, Standing in Death's Sahdow, and Death Comes Uninvited) all surround my real life experiences as a homicide detetcive. However, the system is not foolproof nationwide and many cases remained unsolved. My hope is that I wil turn my writing talents towardds such cases and help shed light on these injustices and how we can right these wrongs.

As you can imagine, as a professor I am quite busy. When I am not teaching or preparing for class I try to conduct research so that I can write and publish academically. But to completely wind down, I do take tame to read books about the American Revolution, Civil War, and World War II experiences--I find these stories fascinating. My family and I also enjoy camping, fishing, hunting, and other outdoor activities.

When my family and I are out shopping at the mall I tend to gravitate to the bookstore where I peruse the sections that fascinate me (including Classics, U.S. History, Military, Biographies, and Philosophy). If the book grabs my attention I'll scan the barcode into my Goodreads app as a 'want to read' and order the book when I'm ready to read it. I have a stack of books I want to read on a table an in my ereader.

I tend to write my best when I am in a 'freeflow' mood. My upcoming book, A Life of Crime, was just that process. I would sit at the computer and just write cop stories from my experiences as I recalled them going through my memories as an officer and detective. If I remembered something out of order I would just write is as a separate file... I make a separate file for each chapter.

Once I've completed my chapters I rename them to put them in order, go back and conduct my first re-write. I'll comb through each of the chapters several times, adjusting and modifying, until I have a solid draft. To edit the material I use Grammarly and my word processing spell/grammar check. I will go through the files several times before being satisfied to compile the book into one file. Once I have compiled the book, I recheck the grammar again as I read through the chapters.

The final step of my process now involves beta-readers. I provide them with a proof copy and ask them to mark it up. I review the mark ups and implement the suggestions, then self-publish the final product.

As an author who self-publishes, this area has always been one that I've tried to accomplish by finding a horizontally oriented picure that tells the story of the book. For instance, for Walking Among the Dead I searched for 'footprints around graves' when I came across a photograph of footprints in the snow in a graveyeard. The image instantly grabbed me. For my upcoming release, A Life of Crime, I wrestled with the title and cover design for well over a year (I started writing this book in 2014 when I also started my Ph.D., but need to devote time to my studies). I was orginally going to title the book "Integrity, Fairness, and Service" the motto of the Baltimore County Police Department, but it didn't grab me. On a whim "A life of crime" came to mind and instantly I could envision a blurred picture of a police car with lights and crime scene tape as the cover. It didn't take me long to find just the right photo.

1. The Hobbit
2. The Lord of the Rings
3. The Two Towers
4. The Return of the King
5. (to be determined)

These books had a profound impact on developing my reading abilities in middle school. I attribute my current success as a scholar to the devotion of Mrs. Karen Ware, who helped me become a better reader through these books.

Up until 2-years ago, I had the first generation Nook by Barnes and Noble. Then the technology became outdated and they offered me a Nook GlowLight 3 at a discounted price. I went with the offer because I like the ereaders that have the glare free screen. I like being able to sit outside and read my books in the sunshine.