While most kids dreamed of being a fireman or something equally as glorious I thought of writing books. My near constant immersion in books fueled those dreams.

Fast forward to 1989. I was only thirty one but allot of life and stupid adventures had been crowded into those years. At the center of all of it were books and old trucks as well as a few old cars.

My loving wife jokingly suggested that since I could talk old cars for hours and enjoy myself even when alone perhaps it was time these stories be written.

A dream was rekindled. I dug out a rusty, trusty, 1948 vintage typewriter and an equally battered camera, made a call to the editor of Special Interest Autos published by Hemmings Motor News, and sold my first feature. With visions of quiting the day job and a dream reborn I sent the completed feature with photos.

Fast forward to the late spring of 2008. Now I am fifty. The hair is a touch grey and the ghosts of past adventurers have begun to haunt me in the form of stiff joints, and a couple of missing teeth.

The features and books are written on a computer. The photos are taken with a digital camera. The head is filled with a near constant need to learn new technology that in turn encourages a bit of frustration and challenges me to refrain from digging up words I used to use.

I still have the day job, praise the Lord. The dream of being a writer unshackled from the bonds of a time clock ebb and flow with each success and each disappointment. However, like the prospector of old I just know there is a big strike out there somewhere so just keep plugging along.

To date I have written sections for two books, written three books, coauthored another, and am deep in to the writing of another. I wrote two columns for the local paper for more than a dozen years. Feature articles have been published in Special Interest Autos, Old Cars Weekly, Route 66, American Road, The Laughlin Nevada Times Weekender, Texas Car News, and Hemmings Classic Car. Now I am an associate editor with Cars & Parts and write a regular column for those fine folks as well as a feature once and awhile as well as the book reviews.

One lesson learned is that name recognition and self promotion is key. This led to the creation of this blog. Now the tread mill has me learning to promote the blog to promote the writing that is done when I am not working to support the promotion of the blog and the writing.

The moral of the story is this – don’t quit the day job and don’t give up the dreams. One is important to keep the other alive and the other is important to keep you alive. Without dreams to chase we become as the ruins of Rhyolite.