My wife and I are curious, adventurous souls. Back when I wore a corporate suit and our girls were yet to be conceived, we racked up passport stamps like grocery receipts. Then I started writing and the children started coming and we found ourselves restrained -- for twelve years.

Well, not any more.

With our youngest approaching 6, and our careers now accommodating (Elena teaches college math online) we’ve returned to our old tricks. Our 2017 travel schedule looks like the National Geographic channel. Man, it’s good to be back!

Used to be I toured and traveled and attempted the unusual to get everything I could out of life. I still do, but now I also do it with my plots and characters in mind. In other words, I’m working.

This was the vision that got me to hang up my suits and gave me the courage to leap from safety into the unknown. Now that I’m here it all feels worth it, but along the way I endured years of doubts. It’s great the way things eventually come together, with a bit of luck, a lot of sweat, and an unrelenting determination to succeed. Don’t stop dreaming my friends,