Tell us about yourself and what inspired you to start writing.
I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Growing up, I was really into sports and it has continued to be a big part of my life. Writing was something I never thought about doing until my Sophomore year in high school. I was sitting in English class and the teacher came up to me and said I was doing really well in her class. She handed me an A paper and told me that she thinks this is a talent and that I should really explore this. I of course said, thank you, but never really thought about it again until college.
I attended Texas Tech University where I got my Bachelor’s an English Literature. While there, I would study great authors like; Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Stephen King, and Chuck Palahniuk, to name a few. I had so much fun in those classes and they really focused on breaking down the story and what the author meant by a scene.
After college, I begin writing screenplays first and sports articles for The Sports Column. I have contributed over one-hundred articles and I was the most viewed in 2018 and 2019. I’ve also written short films that played on DirecTV and AT&T U-VERSE. I didn’t start writing my first book until 2017 and that was over my coaching experience and training young athletes in Austin, TX. It took me about a year to complete.
Describe your writing process? Is there anything unique about it?
I remember during my time as a college student, professors would tell us that we would need to write everyday. I think that’s good practice. It’s a muscle and you have to be able to work it out to get better at this craft. I’m a person who can’t write everyday, not unless I’m Stephen King. Lol. Sometimes when I’m writing, I’ll be stuck on one page and need to get away for a few days to come back to it with a fresh pair of eyes. At other times, I’m on a roll, I’ll write ten pages in one day.
The hardest part for me with writing is just the motivation of sitting down and do it. At home you might have a lot of distractions, but you have to be able to tell yourself I’m going to write for these many hours or no matter what, I’m going to write these many pages. It works for me, but I know every writer has a different process.
Some people like to block out time to write, but I like to be spontaneous with my writing. I also like to write descriptive passages in the books and get very detailed with it. I usually write about three pages before I have a character speak any dialog. Screenplays, you can’t do that it’s all about dialog, but with a book you can get away with it. The reader has to be able to get in the character’s mind and see what he or she is feeling.
Have you published any books or do you have a desire to do so?
I have three books on Amazon. Preparing Athletes For The Future, The Light That Shines Upon The Players, and my new one, An Athlete’s Journey.
Preparing Athletes For The Future is really my coaching book. I’ve been a sports coach for 12 years in the Austin area and I grew up an athlete. I was a kid of the 90s and I think how coaches trained athletes back then is very different than how it is now. I wanted to explore that in the book. I also wanted the reader to feel what the coaches are going through. What happens if you can’t get along with one of your co-coaches? How do you train an athlete who is 3 years old and starting out compared to training a middle school athlete? All of this I get detailed in each chapter.
The Light That Shines Upon The Players is about the behind the scenes that an athlete may face emotionally. What happens to him or her while at home or maybe they’re not performing well in class, so, that effects them on the field? What would happen if an athlete broke up a relationship they had for years and how does that affect him or her throughout the season? All of this, is detailed in each chapter of the book.
An Athlete’s Journey, my new one, is about the journey for an athlete that he or she has to take in order to achieve a goal. It’s definitely more grown up material. I talk about performance enhancing drugs in one chapter, I also mention Tom Brady, who people considered the greatest of all time and talk about his draft pick. All of it leads up to how to overcome obstacles and be prepared to take on life and be successful. I call it my sports trilogy of books.
Do you have any favorite poets or authors?
My favorite author is Richard Matheson, who wrote “I Am Legend” and many episodes for Star Trek the original television series. I also really like Chuck Palahniuk and Stephen King. One of my favorite movies is Fight Club and Palahniuk wrote the novel for it. He writes dark stuff, but he definitely keeps the reader interested. King likes the build up and at times he can be overly descriptive, but the payoff is amazing. I loved “It” and “Salem’s Lot.” Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” is a masterful piece of work and I love how it’s told all in diary format. Francis Ford Coppola movie is great, too.
Do you have a favorite book of poetry or poems?
I like thrillers and Dramas. Biographies are fun to read, too. I would say my favorite book of all time is probably, “I Am Legend” by Richard Matheson. You feel for the main character of Robert Neville. At times he’s lonely, but he has a purpose to be the last man on earth to find a cure to turn the effected vampires back to humans. The real story behind it is, how do you adapt to change? How do you live in an environment with no one around? Can you survive it? The story is about the ultimate survival, mentally, physically, and emotionally.
What are you reading now?
Right now, I’m reading “GreenLights” by Matthew McConaughey. I’m from Texas so anything about Texas I’ll read, lol. It’s a fascinating book and I’m later on in the book where he’s becoming a big Hollywood actor. The childhood and his family life is what’s intriguing to me. There are times where he had it rough, but we come out at the end of the tunnel learning life lessons. It’s a great book.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Full-time job, pets, hobbies?
My full-time job is a coach in Austin. I’ve been coaching for 12 years in all sports, but right now I’m doing basketball and soccer. I usually coach the elementary and middle school athletes. I also like to hang out with friends and I’m active movie goer. I love going to see movies and critique them. One of my favorite hobbies is to run marathons and still keep in shape. I’ve run 13 half-marathons, and 1 full marathon. I ran track in high school and running is usually what I like to do to relax.
Are you working on a current project?
I usually like to write uplifting and life lesson stories that I can put in book format. My next one won’t be a sports one, but possibly a political one. I’m just trying to figure out the details.
Poet Website and Profiles
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