Hmm -- Why Do I Write?

I Write From My Experiences

I have to credit the Air Force for many of my most interesting experiences. I've been stationed in Albuquerque, Ft. Walton Beach, Tucson, and overseas in Sicily. I tested chemical agent detectors in Florida while sweltering in full protective gear. With sweat pooling in my gloves and my breath sounding in my ears like Darth Vader, I finally had my mild claustrophobia beaten out of me. This also prepared me for wearing that gear in 90-degree-plus weather in Sicily. Just before I transferred to Sicily, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed by Reagan and Gorbachev. This treaty gave me the opportunity to escort USSR treaty inspectors on Comiso Air Station. When the Berlin Wall came down, I felt the impact of that event all the way down in Sicily. After nine years, I decided to leave the AF and move back to Colorado, where I worked in software development.

Minoan Space and the Ariane Kedros Novels started in 1989 while I was getting a briefing from the AFOSI regarding the arriving Soviet inspectors. We were shown pictures of inspectors, and told who were KGB agents and who were scientists. The intelligence communities were excited and ready. After seeing inspectors pretend to not understand English (and only during working hours), the seeds for the world of Minoan Space were sown. The alternate world history grew from my professional military education and my studies of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. I began wondering what our world history would be like if they'd both lived longer.

I Write Because I Like to Read

I grew up in Colorado, where I spent time with dogs and horses, as well as voraciously reading anything I could get my hands on. I found the fun stuff in my parents' library: meaning Ray Bradbury, Leigh Brackett, J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, Isaac Asimov, Ursela K. Le Guin, Mary Renault, Jane Austin, Louisa Alcott, Robert Stevenson, and the Brontê sisters -- what else did you think I meant? My love of fiction eventually took a back seat to getting my Chemistry B.S. at Colorado State University and entering the US Air Force, but my reading always naturally gravitated toward speculative fiction.

The Chronicles of the Broken Kaskea was a world I started creating in college. My travels through Europe made it a strange melding of European mythos and cultures. The Tyrrans are consummate horsemen and horse breeders and their history reflects a bit of my Finnish heritage (sort of The Kalevala merged into the horse tribes of the Huns).

Contacting Me

You may email me with author@ancestralstars.com or, if you prefer the U.S. postal service, you may use P.O. Box 1063, Monument, CO 80132-1063