As a Minnesota native, I was fortunate to learn automotive maintenance and repair at my father's gas station during my formative years. Later, I worked on a railroad crew, straightening rails on the ties, before serving as a deckhand on Great Lakes ore boats, where I painted many gallons of red lead. Following college, I taught high school for sixteen years while nurturing my lifelong passion for guitar. After my teaching career, I founded a contracting company that specialized in laying water and sewer pipes, building roads, and constructing homes. Only after retiring did I begin writing my beloved Ghosts in the Trees series.