I was into stories as far back as I can remember — books, movies, TV shows, newspapers, magazines, anything with a narrative.

It took a few decades, but I ended up where I belong. As a self-employed commercial writer, I’m telling stories every day. My clients are global technology companies doing things like artificial intelligence and zero-trust cyber security. My narratives fill ebooks, whitepapers, sponsored content, blog posts and case studies.

My wife and I dwell in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. While we’ve lived in two Bay Areas (Tampa and San Francisco), we share rust-belt roots. We watch a lot of movies and enjoy epic road trips in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I go on many hikes because it’s the most natural way to exercise.  

Your host, circa 2022

How it all started

I was born early in the administration of John F. Kennedy. I grew up far from Camelot in a working-class household in the suburbs of Peoria, Illinois. Dad worked in a wire mill. Mom was a secretary. Stepmom was a surgical tech; stepdad was a jet mechanic. (We lived for awhile in a subdivision called Lake Camelot. Alas, I have no exalted myths to report).

My first real job was running a radial drill in a machine shop that supplied spare parts for bulldozers. It was dirty, hazardous duty for little pay and zero glory. But I can always look some Ivy League type in the eye and ask him if he’s ever worked for a living like I did. (Reverse snobbery is the best kind).   

I got laid off from that gig and a couple years later I found myself studying journalism at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. They even made me editor of the campus paper one semester. From 1987 through 2009, I worked for newspapers in Carbondale, Tampa, Peoria and San Jose, California.

Since then, I’ve been a work-from-home soloist. I do business as Verb Nerd Industries. Stop by my business page to find out more about working with me.

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