A little bit about me.

I never set out to be a writer. It never really crossed my mind as something I could do. I’m always interested when people talk about writing stories in their journals at age 10. That wasn’t me at all.

But I did grow up reading. I was hooked on fantasy and science fiction from an early age. More importantly, my mom always had National Geographic around and she got my brother and me a subscription to National Geographic World magazine – what was later changed to NatGeo Kids.

I remember reading that magazine from cover to cover. I dreamed of traveling the world and exploring. In college, I went to J-school, but I still didn’t know what was possible. I mean, I was a kid from West Virginia. I thought you had to be in New York for those kinds of adventures.

I won’t bore you with the twists and turns, but seven trips to Russia, starting just after the Soviet Union broke up, learning to dive and getting to stand on every continent but Antarctica because of it, I’ve gotten to live that life.

Now, I’m an author and journalist best known for my thriller novels that center around scuba diving, the environment and the ocean. I’ve written for several magazines including Scuba Diving Magazine where I write a monthly column on dive accident analysis. Along the way, I also became a dive instructor and a diver medic.

That journalism experience led to audio and photo documentaries on Moskito Indians who scuba dive for lobster, war veterans, and the legacy of minor league baseball in my hometown of Charleston, West Virginia.

I’m currently the News Director for West Virginia Public Broadcasting, the state-wide affiliate of both National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

This substack will be a combination of serial stories, essays and photographs from above and below the water. I hope you stick around to learn more.