This is my story. An ongoing adventure of love, struggles with mental health and the life of a renaissance man.

My story started in 1972, born to young parents who did the best they could do. But its not that simple. I am more than I seem. What defines me? That’s a hard question to answer. I’ve never been one to let my mental challenges define me as a person, but for the sake of setting the story, I will. I have Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and a nasty little thing called Psoriatic Arthritis. As much as I hate it, they dictate much of my life. My mental health is the very reason I am where I am today.

I’ve had a full life for not quite reaching fifty yet. I’ve held the title of artist, professional scuba diver, law enforcement officer, private detective, writer, musician, teacher, father and husband. I’ve been busy over the last forty eight years. So how does one fit so much into a short life? The real question should be, what do I want to be when I grow up?

My first passion was always art. I started at a very young age, excelled through out my childhood. I attended the South Carolina Governors School for the Arts, The Greenville Fine Arts Center, and The Savannah College of Art and Design. My dream was to be an illustrator. But along the way I found music, I picked up a guitar and found it to be a wonderful outlet for my creativity. I was a natural at it and much like my artistic side, I wanted to do nothing more than create.

After my first marriage at age 20, I developed a nasty case of carpel tunnel. It all but ended the art business for a few years. I searched for another outlet to express myself and found SCUBA Diving. It was a release of sorts, a way to escape from reality and live in a world of aquatic dreams. That dream lasted a few years until the tragic death of a close friend. She lost her life while diving and I couldn’t bring myself to go back to my aquatic world.

I found myself looking for a more disciplined reality, one where law and order made sense. I took a job working as a detention officer, and then moved on to law enforcement. Within two years I was injured in an arrest and permanently disabled by a botched arrest. This opened the door to my job as a private detective. This lasted eight years. During that time I fathered three children and watched my marriage go down in flames. My mental health had erupted like a volcano from years of stress and mental abuse. Down I went, sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

In a bid to fix myself and conquer this monster known as Bipolar Disorder I moved to the Bahamas. I lasted a little over a year, and then moved on to Mexico. I spent almost two years trying to find myself. Two years of drug abuse, sexual conquest, fights, smuggling, and self discovery. I came home with a book of stories and a need to rebuild.

In my new journey to better myself as a father, I fell in love and married the most amazing woman I had ever met. She changed my world. Her existence altered mine, and shaped me into the man I am today. But I needed to address the mental issues. I needed to get professional help. Music was my new passion. I had no tolerance for the art world any longer, it didn’t offer growth.

I spent my time in a mental hospital, received Electro Convulsive Therapy and began my journey down the path of a new me. I sat down at a computer and wrote two books and hundreds of stories. The words flowed, and there were so many adventures I had yet to tell about.

Today I am the father of three beautiful children, the husband of an amazing woman, a semi-professional musician and a full time writer. This is my story.