I grew up on the far Northwest side of the Windy City, attending Taft High School with more notable others like Terry Kath (Chicago), Jim Jacobs (Grease), and Jim Grabowski (Packers). I can thank fascinating teachers like Harry S. Miller, who piqued my interest in flying saucers, banned cancer cures, and the visualization process; and John Brow, who led me into the writing life.

Before I became a full-time writer, I was a principal architect and real estate executive. I also have experience as a golf course caddie, drive-in restaurant manager, door-to-door salesman, and as a long-term student, leading to a B.Architecture from the University of Illinois and a J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago. I spent the '67 Summer of Love exploring Europe in a Volkswagen pickup truck, and for six months just after the 1968 May Day protests, I attended architectural school in Paris.

I have written both fiction and nonfiction books, but my sole focus now is writing fiction. Each of my books begins with the question: What if? Many words later, I may have an answer.

Architects and writers have visions, plan them out in detail, and then build structures, stacking bricks or words one after another to create the form. These are similar, satisfying creative processes that I have enjoyed for a lifetime.