The Crown of Yensupov (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781505503487)

I grew up in a small town, Kinston, in Eastern North Carolina in the golden age of youth. I say golden age, because kids dashed out the door on Saturday morning, took to bicycles, and explored the world around them unrestrained only returning home for dinner in the late afternoon. I scampered over fields and swampy low grounds, investigated and collected anything that moved and half the flora I came across. That gave me the knowledge of the natural world that backgrounds my epic. I studied mythology and developed my own language that has served me through life. My most prized names took form in the characters and places of my books all these decades later. I went to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I graduated with a BA degree in Ancient and European History. An elective course on castle and cathedral fired up a love of medieval architecture. Little did I know political histories, biographies, art, and architecture would again arise in the fortresses and palaces in my books. I served my country in the Vietnam War, repairing the display computers on the Air Force's F111 aircraft, though not in Vietnam. Then I audited agriculture courses at NC State University for a year before returning to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduating with a MBA, Masters of Business Administration. A long career in the textile industry working in materials inventory, computer systems development, and finally, manufacturing operations ended abruptly due to a corporate buyout. The imploding industry left little economic opportunity. I found myself looking 'outside the box' for future options. A seed suggestion to write down some of my stories, planted by a doctor of literature in my youth, germinated. I decided to write a fantasy story. I had no inkling it would lead me on the greatest adventure of my life. Though I didn't know the stern mandates of creative writing before I started, I learned backwards by rewriting my epic over the years correcting the point of view, show don't tell, 'ly' adverb, passive voice, etc. issues until at last I have the story down pat.