As an author, I have written these books as a way to raise awareness and to shed light on major issues in society.  Sure, some aspects are embellished but they are based loosely on real situations that I experienced. The same rule of thumb applies that what I put in these books does mirror a dark reality, yet it is a reality nonetheless.  My goal ultimately is to empower and give voice to the powerless and mute. That is a main reason why one of the protagonists is a black female. As a white male, I come from a place of privilege, but I have had experiences where that was somewhat diminished and even removed.  In institutions, I had my white privileges somewhat revoked for periods of time, so I can better intuit what it must be like to be powerless and silenced by the rest of privileged society. Part of my journey through life, then, gives me what I look at as an obligation to shed light and bring awareness to those who have been silenced, and I am in a position to do just that with my privilege.  If I do not, then I am not worthy of the privilege bestowed upon me by random chance.

As a survivor of those experiences and the “odd” things that I have had the “privilege” to witness, I can now use my racial and social privileges to help society take a real look at itself in the mirror one reader at a time comfortably without turning away.

These books and writing them have helped me heal from some very serious (some might say close to mortal) wounds and turn those wounds and negative experiences into something positive.  (I do something similar working as a CPS, which is a certified peer specialist. In that role, I use my struggles to intuit others’ struggles and help them through them.) All that being said, I want to take it a step further.  If I can get readers to support me and my work, I will, here and now, pledge to donate some of the proceeds (when enough people buy the books to deem that feasible) to charities that deal with mental health and prison system reform.  However, that cannot happen unless you give my recovery process a boost and a chance by patronizing me and my art and buying my books. Thanks for your time, attention, generosity, and curiosity! Stay curious!

One last note:  By December, I hope to have a paperback for sale which will contain the first two novellas and a third new one which I am currently working tirelessly on.  Thanks for your understanding, honesty, and support in advance!