Let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I was born in Connecticut in May of 1968. After a couple of years we moved to Potsdam, New York where my Mother grew up and not far from the town where my Father grew up (Colton). Potsdam is where I grew up. I have one sibling three years my junior, a brother. His name is Adam. He's a chemist for Pfizer near Plattsburg, NY. He and his wife Christine have a son-Levi and a daughter-Rebekah.
I moved to Syracuse in 1996 and have been here since. I got married in 1997 to Beth, also from Potsdam. We actually dated when we were teenagers. We stayed friends but eventually we went our separate ways. But, after a few years of absence, we ran into each other and rekindled the flames and have been together since. After eight years of marriage we had a son-Shaun. He's now 15 years old. I also have a daughter from a previous relationship. Her name is Hannah. She's 33. Yes, I know; kind of wild that my two kids are 18 years apart!
I worked for various companies along the way. My first job was in a dishroom at Clarkson college when I was 16. From there I worked mostly in retail, save for a stint with my Uncle's landscaping company. Then I went to work for a book and magazine distributor. It was interesting to see the various aspects of this business. I did this work for about 6.5 years until I felt the calling into the ministry. Beth and I had been attending the North Syracuse Christian church in our town (which we found by looking in the phone book!) for about 8 years where I eventually became a Deacon. We were baptized together in that church shortly after our marriage. I had made contact with a Minister of a sister church at one of our men's breakfasts to talk with him about being in the ministry. I wanted to investigate and seek Godly counsel about this calling I had. Little did I know that he had been looking for an Associate for some time. Well, one thing led to another and I found myself doing an internship at his church. After about 9 months, realizing that I was a fit, I was hired on as a full-time Minister. A year-and-a-half after that I was officially ordained in September of 2006. I'm still at the church. Cornerstone Christian church is a nondenominational inner city church. We are a church where you can come and feel welcome. We have four services with four different cultural groups: American, Vietnamese, Burmese and Ethiopian. If you have any questions about the church give me a call or feel free to stop in during the week and pay us a visit. You can get the address and phone number on the home page. I'm a minister, a writer, a husband and a father. I couldn't see myself doing anything else. Life is good.
My writing career started when I won a writing contest in fourth grade (actually I tied with another student). It was a contest for the best Halloween story. I wrote about a witch who rode a vacuum instead of a broom. She went around sucking kids up and taking them back to her castle. Not bad, eh? The prize was a blow-up pumpkin-a 4th grader's pulitzer. I also remember as a second-grader being chosen to read aloud to the other students in circle time. It was quite an honor (although I'm sure the teacher gave other students the opportunity to read as well but I've conveniently blocked that out). I remember in later years writing skits and having some of the neighborhood kids act them out. Later I turned my attention to poetry (lyrics were more like it since I was destined to be a rock singer, don't ya know). That didn't quite pan out. As I got older, my writing suffered. It got put on the back burner as I became interested in other things. But, one day, shortly after I moved to Syracuse, I started reading again and rather consistently. In 1997 I entered and won a writing contest held by Penguin publishers. Shortly afterwards, I began putting together what would eventually become my novel-Beneath the Surface (more about that can be found on the page of the same name). I've written poetry, short stories, plays, devotionals, sermons and I also have ideas for more novels. Where this writing journey will eventually take me God only knows. But, wherever it does go, I intend to enjoy the ride. Life is good.
I moved to Syracuse in 1996 and have been here since. I got married in 1997 to Beth, also from Potsdam. We actually dated when we were teenagers. We stayed friends but eventually we went our separate ways. But, after a few years of absence, we ran into each other and rekindled the flames and have been together since. After eight years of marriage we had a son-Shaun. He's now 15 years old. I also have a daughter from a previous relationship. Her name is Hannah. She's 33. Yes, I know; kind of wild that my two kids are 18 years apart!
I worked for various companies along the way. My first job was in a dishroom at Clarkson college when I was 16. From there I worked mostly in retail, save for a stint with my Uncle's landscaping company. Then I went to work for a book and magazine distributor. It was interesting to see the various aspects of this business. I did this work for about 6.5 years until I felt the calling into the ministry. Beth and I had been attending the North Syracuse Christian church in our town (which we found by looking in the phone book!) for about 8 years where I eventually became a Deacon. We were baptized together in that church shortly after our marriage. I had made contact with a Minister of a sister church at one of our men's breakfasts to talk with him about being in the ministry. I wanted to investigate and seek Godly counsel about this calling I had. Little did I know that he had been looking for an Associate for some time. Well, one thing led to another and I found myself doing an internship at his church. After about 9 months, realizing that I was a fit, I was hired on as a full-time Minister. A year-and-a-half after that I was officially ordained in September of 2006. I'm still at the church. Cornerstone Christian church is a nondenominational inner city church. We are a church where you can come and feel welcome. We have four services with four different cultural groups: American, Vietnamese, Burmese and Ethiopian. If you have any questions about the church give me a call or feel free to stop in during the week and pay us a visit. You can get the address and phone number on the home page. I'm a minister, a writer, a husband and a father. I couldn't see myself doing anything else. Life is good.
My writing career started when I won a writing contest in fourth grade (actually I tied with another student). It was a contest for the best Halloween story. I wrote about a witch who rode a vacuum instead of a broom. She went around sucking kids up and taking them back to her castle. Not bad, eh? The prize was a blow-up pumpkin-a 4th grader's pulitzer. I also remember as a second-grader being chosen to read aloud to the other students in circle time. It was quite an honor (although I'm sure the teacher gave other students the opportunity to read as well but I've conveniently blocked that out). I remember in later years writing skits and having some of the neighborhood kids act them out. Later I turned my attention to poetry (lyrics were more like it since I was destined to be a rock singer, don't ya know). That didn't quite pan out. As I got older, my writing suffered. It got put on the back burner as I became interested in other things. But, one day, shortly after I moved to Syracuse, I started reading again and rather consistently. In 1997 I entered and won a writing contest held by Penguin publishers. Shortly afterwards, I began putting together what would eventually become my novel-Beneath the Surface (more about that can be found on the page of the same name). I've written poetry, short stories, plays, devotionals, sermons and I also have ideas for more novels. Where this writing journey will eventually take me God only knows. But, wherever it does go, I intend to enjoy the ride. Life is good.
