I've been wandering around this mudball, third stone from the sun, trying to figure out what to do with my life for over 50 years now.  I still haven't found all the answers, but I keep trying stuff to see if I like it, and if I have the capacity to do well in it.  If it satisfies both of those, it usually sticks around.  Those are the types of things you will find here.

BIO
I was born in Northwest Indiana and grew up in Griffith, IN until I graduated from Purdue with an engineering degree in the late 1980s.  I moved to St. Louis for about 4 years, then finally settled down in Plainfield, IL.
When I was a kid growing up in Griffith, I spent most of my time learning to play guitar.  I was self taught, which was not a good idea, because as it turns out, I'm a horrible guitar teacher.  I didn't have the benefit of the internet way back then, so I had to buy song books.  I picked up Led Zeppelin Complete, which, at the time, was all the Zeppelin songs in one book up through Houses of the Holy.  I spent about 8 hours a day in my room, with my record player, learning every song.  I'm sure my parents loved that, but it shows I can stick to something if I want to.  After a while, I had all of them down pretty good.  I eventually formed a few bands and played out in bars when I was 18.  That was about the time I started engineering school, so I put down the guitar and picked up some books, which in hindsight, was probably a smart thing to do.
I worked at several big name corporations, doing mostly software development until I went into managing people who do software development.  I still do that as my day job today.  Check out my linkedin page if you are interested.
I'd like to say I always knew what I wanted to do when I grew up, but I still can't say that.  I've dabbled in drawing and painting but never became super good at that.  I also try to read constantly.  I prefer that over TV.  I do love movies though.  Maybe it's the popcorn.  Or the escapism.  Or both.
Around February of 2012, I decided to start writing.  Once again, I like to self teach because I'm very impatient and I always want to skip ahead and just do the thing.   I had a story in my head about an asteroid that was being mined, and aliens started popping out of it.  I couldn't get the story out of my head, so I just started writing that scene.  English was never my strong subject, but I liked reading, so, I assumed I would just write how I thought it should read.  I still do that.  Hopefully you won't realize just how bad my sentence structure is, but you probably do. 
I completed the first draft of what I now title PLANet B during the fall of 2013.  I realized then that the book sucked, and that I have no idea how to write a book and I needed help.  This wasn't as easy as learning guitar.  With guitar, you know when you have it.  Writing isn't so clear cut, so I signed up for a writing workshop called "The Writer's Loft" in Chicago near Wrigley Field.  That was a great help, but my teacher passed away before I could complete the class.
Eventually, the following September, in 2014, Mary Carter picked up the class and I took it again, joining her advanced writer group.  I wound up going through each page of my novel in that class, and it taught me a ton about writing.  Currently, I'm finishing up the 5th draft and sending it out to beta readers.   I hope to send it out to agents later this year, in 2016.
At this point, I would love to retire from the software industry and write, on a beach somewhere, smoking a cigar, drinking a scotch.  That's probably not going to happen, so In the meantime, I'll work on my writing when I'm not working.
My wife of 21 years (Audrey) and I have two kids (Nicole and Alex), both of which are adults.  We also have an aging chihuahua named Chile.

Fun Facts
Stephen King: I own every Stephen King book in hardcover (and I've read them!).  Not the first release of each one mind you, but I have them all.
Influences: Vonnegut, King, Arthur C. Clarke, Heinlein, Hemingway and the Horatio Hornblower series by Forester.
Education and Business:  I have a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from Purdue, a Graduate Certificate (like 1/2 a Master's) in Artificial Intelligence from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Master's in Computer Science from University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC).   I started my own business on the side in 2000 and I've built and sold software worth over half a million dollars, of which I've spent all of my portion.  What do I have to show for it?  A nice laptop and a mini van.  Don't judge me.
Favorite Guitar/Amp Combo: My 1993 Gibson Les Paul Studio in Black and a Marshall TSL 60 watt amp that I've never been able to actually play at full volume because it's so damn loud.
Most recent band: I was in a reggae band for a few years, playing bars around Chicagoland.  I was the white guy. 
Favorite Painter: Van Gogh.  I did a rendition of starry night that's like 4 feet high.
Favorite Scotch: Cragganmore.  Distiller's Edition.  Neat.
Favorite Cigar: Cohiba Siglo IV (Cuban), when I can get one.
Favorite Vacation Spot: Atlantis on Paradise Island.  I go there about once a year with my wife Audrey.
Other Writers in the Family: The famous J.P. Barnaby is my first cousin.