A fateful event affected my identity when I was an infant. My father was killed in the Second World War. My twin sister, our older brother, and I were raised by my mother and her extended family. In my memoir, Soldier's Son, I tell about growing up with this family of storytellers and about learning of my father's life and death. The early years of my life's journey influenced the kind of man I am today.

I always enjoyed making and doing things. I gardened, jumped horses, and cooked. I also always enjoyed companion dogs and cats. In my work as a Professor of English at the University of Mississippi, I have always taught writing, which combines companionship with active making and doing.

I earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English at Indiana University where I wrote a dissertation on William Faulkner's fiction While, over the years, I have written a lot of narrative pieces that came out of my personal experiences, my published writing, prior to Soldier's Son, consisted of textbooks and professional works. I am now working on new projects in fiction and memoir.

I have long lived with talented children who span three decades. My oldest son is a musician, a teacher, and an entrepreneur of musical projects. My second son graduated with honors from college and is working and studying improvisation in Chicago. My older daughter is studying in college abroad. Married to a school administrator, I also have a stepson who is working a while before entering college. Our youngest daughter is an elementary school student, involved in gymnastics, basketball, Girl Scouts, and music. Every day bustles with activities in our lively home.

A couple of years ago, I had a traumatic accident. While hunting, I fell from a tree stand when a hand hold broke. While I am lucky to be alive and mobile, I experience chronic back pain and my physical activities are limited. Through continued physical therapy I am recovering more fully. Every week brings new strategies and new possibilities. Suffice it to say that I have had a painful lesson in how I don't really control my own destiny. Nevertheless, I work daily to expand my horizons, physical, mental, and spiritual. Besides my professional work, I like to cheer on my favorite college sports teams and to cook for family and friends. I look longingly at my bright blue, 1978 MG Midget and dream of the day when I can cruise around in it again. Throughout it all, I remain an active explorer, journeying through worlds in my new writing projects.