My first sip of black coffee in the morning. My first taste of fine bourbon in the evening. A satisfying bout of exercise-biking, walking, boxing, weights, paddle board, yoga. Reading literature that gratifies or inspires, an international selection of authors. Writing whatever stray thoughts may populate my mind. Music, mostly the blues, jazz and classic rock. Travel here and there but with an emphasis on Europe. Time with my wife, Patty, and my daughter, Stacey. Friends.

This is how I stay busy in my almost-retirement. These avocations have been a part of my life for the bulk of my years since adolescence. Writing seriously began only about two decades ago, when I entered my fifties. It started with a children’s book, The Fish That Made a Wish. I soon moved on to novels as a more fulfilling challenge. The Temple was my first. It developed as the result of a dream, as did A Bourbon Fantasy. The others emerged from my brain, often unbidden, and took on a life of their own.

How often an idea emerges from nowhere and expands until it becomes a story. So far I’ve self-published twelve of these creations, thirteen if you count The Fish. Nine novels, two compendiums of poetry and one tongue-in-cheek self-help volume. All available on Amazon except the Fish That Made a Wish which you must order through me. I have two more poetry collections, a compilation of sayings and three novels awaiting final review before I impose them on the innocent world.

I have no idea if my scribblings are any good. I’m putting them out there for you, the public, to decide.

I spent forty-six years as an attorney, most of those in Ocala, Florida. I was a sole practitioner in my own building. I undertook courtroom litigation, primarily in the business and real estate fields, and had a successful desk practice preparing contracts, wills and trusts, consulting, handling property transactions…  I did well despite a lack of passion for the occupation.

A bit of background. I was born in Schenectady, New York but moved to Daytona when I was thirteen. Graduated from Seabreeze High, The University of Florida both undergrad and law, then settled into the legal profession. My father was an electrical engineer for GE, worked on defense and space developments. My mother stayed home to govern her five kids with the firm hand of a second-generation Italian.

Patty and I are now living back in Daytona, my old stomping grounds.

There you have it. A quick summary that encapsulates my seventy-one years in a few paragraphs. There’s much more to say but you’ll have to read my books where more of the story is indirectly weaved into the plots. Perhaps embellished and projected onto fantasies, adventures  and situations that are imaginative, the characterizations are more an essence than a portrait. Still, in all I’ve written is invested a bit of my soul, yours to enjoy if you want it.