about Mike

They say God works in strange and mysterious ways. Well, I've seen both firsthand so you won't hear any disagreement coming from my corner of the world.

One of the most common questions I'm asked is: How did you get into writing? My birth as a writer was as sudden and soul-wrenching for me as was my birth as a Christian, my adoption into the family of God.

I was born a writer in September of 1998. My brother-in-law, Darrell, wrecked his motorcycle and landed himself in the Shock Trauma unit of the Albany Medical Center in New York. In a life-threatening coma, numb to the world around him, Darrell slept while my sister and the rest of our family prayed for God to spare him. It was during that time of wrestling with God, questioning His motives and sovereignty, accusing, begging, and waiting, that I first took up a pen and journaled my feelings, poured my wounded soul onto paper. Funny thing is, up until that point I had hated writing. Had no interest in it at all. But through my journaling I found a freedom I had not known before. You see, all my life I have struggled with stuttering. Sometimes my tongue gets so tied in knots and my throat so tight I can't put together a complete sentence without faltering. But through writing I discovered I could say exactly what was in my heart, I could let the words flow on paper without a single hitch and with perfect fluency. For the first time in my life I felt free when it came to communication. And I loved it. The feeling was exhilerating. I felt like a mute man touched by the healing hand of Jesus, the words in my mind and heart finally set free to spread their wings and soar.

After Darrell recovered I didn't stop writing. Writing had become a part of me, grafted into my being like a transplanted organ. I wanted it, desired it, needed it. I wrote about every inspirational thought that bloomed in my head, saw metaphors and word pictures in ordinary life, crafted stories from mundane activities. My imagination was working overtime, so alive and acute that stories sprang up like wildflowers.

I've been writing ever since, working to hone my craft and develop my ability. I had to learn to harness my enthusiasm and imagination, manage my time, and choose which projects to pursue over others. But I'm so thankful that God really does work in both strange and mysterious ways. Using the tragedy of a life-threatening accident He planted in me a desire to explore that Godlike attribute of creativity thorugh the written word.

To God be the glory . . .

Read about Mike's journey to becoming a published suspense author.