My bio
I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, which once called itself the "Sparkling City by the Sea." It's hardly that. On one end it smells like the oil refineries and on the other like the dank, stagnant water of the Laguna Madre. In between, it's absolutely unremarkable. But what can you expect from a city that has in its name the Latin root for corpse?
My father is an architect who spent his early career designing Catholic churches and currently concentrates on hotels. My mother was, for most of her life, primarily a wife and mother. The recession of the 1970s forced her to go to work, but a decade later she returned home to open a daycare, serving parents who work odd shifts. Mom was also a MUFON field investigator. UFO and paranormal lore were her hobbies while Dad's are firearms, motorcycles and photography.
I was an adequate student, making As and Bs except in Algebra II. I could have done much better, perhaps even been a contender for valedictorian, but I saw no need to try so hard. Neither did I see the point of student government or the Key Club. No one explained to me that these activities would help me get into a good university. I'm convinced that back then, school officials decided whether a student was college-bound and didn't bother with those they believed were destined for less.
I joined the U.S. Air Force two weeks after graduating from high school, eager to leave home and see the world. I trained as a cryptographic technician and was first stationed at Langley AFB near Hampton, Virginia, where I met and eventually married my husband, Hal. We went to the panhandle of Florida, then were separated for a year by the Air Force, which sent Hal to Florennes, Belgium and me to Osan AB in the Republic of Korea. I visited Hal in Belgium, and we spent 3 weeks driving around Europe.
We returned to Langley, where I left the military after 12 years for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was that my career field was shrinking, and the Air Force wanted to retrain me as a medic. I worked as an administrative assistant for a nonprofit family counseling agency while I attended night classes at Christopher Newport University. A couple of years later, Hal retired from the Air Force and went to work for a defense contractor.
In 2000 I received a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, combining curriculae in applied physics and English with a concentration in creative writing. My goal was to write science articles for the general public and science fiction novels. In 2002 I quit my job to begin a career as an author.
For 5 years I was very happy, completing a novel and several short stories, winning a few small contests and attending writers' groups, art classes and Toastmasters meetings, all in pursuit of my writing career. I was a volunteer tax preparer for the AARP.
Hal was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2006. He died 18 months later.
Since then I've been struggling to restart my life. I have dabbled in screenplays, taken paid work writing web content and done some writing for friends, but for the most part I've been grieving. In 2009 I sold the house Hal died in and moved from Yorktown to Hampton, Virginia, into a small luxury apartment in a new urban community. Later that same year, I decided it would be best to leave Virginia and start over in Denver Colorado, near my sister and her family.
On December 1, 2009 I woke up in a hotel in West Virginia and began the next phase of my life. I decided to treat my first year in Colorado as an extended writer's retreat, writing full time and trying to find my niche as a professional writer, speaker and teacher. If I don't succeed, I have another year to find a "real" job before my funds run out.
My father is an architect who spent his early career designing Catholic churches and currently concentrates on hotels. My mother was, for most of her life, primarily a wife and mother. The recession of the 1970s forced her to go to work, but a decade later she returned home to open a daycare, serving parents who work odd shifts. Mom was also a MUFON field investigator. UFO and paranormal lore were her hobbies while Dad's are firearms, motorcycles and photography.
I was an adequate student, making As and Bs except in Algebra II. I could have done much better, perhaps even been a contender for valedictorian, but I saw no need to try so hard. Neither did I see the point of student government or the Key Club. No one explained to me that these activities would help me get into a good university. I'm convinced that back then, school officials decided whether a student was college-bound and didn't bother with those they believed were destined for less.
I joined the U.S. Air Force two weeks after graduating from high school, eager to leave home and see the world. I trained as a cryptographic technician and was first stationed at Langley AFB near Hampton, Virginia, where I met and eventually married my husband, Hal. We went to the panhandle of Florida, then were separated for a year by the Air Force, which sent Hal to Florennes, Belgium and me to Osan AB in the Republic of Korea. I visited Hal in Belgium, and we spent 3 weeks driving around Europe.
We returned to Langley, where I left the military after 12 years for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was that my career field was shrinking, and the Air Force wanted to retrain me as a medic. I worked as an administrative assistant for a nonprofit family counseling agency while I attended night classes at Christopher Newport University. A couple of years later, Hal retired from the Air Force and went to work for a defense contractor.
In 2000 I received a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, combining curriculae in applied physics and English with a concentration in creative writing. My goal was to write science articles for the general public and science fiction novels. In 2002 I quit my job to begin a career as an author.
For 5 years I was very happy, completing a novel and several short stories, winning a few small contests and attending writers' groups, art classes and Toastmasters meetings, all in pursuit of my writing career. I was a volunteer tax preparer for the AARP.
Hal was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2006. He died 18 months later.
Since then I've been struggling to restart my life. I have dabbled in screenplays, taken paid work writing web content and done some writing for friends, but for the most part I've been grieving. In 2009 I sold the house Hal died in and moved from Yorktown to Hampton, Virginia, into a small luxury apartment in a new urban community. Later that same year, I decided it would be best to leave Virginia and start over in Denver Colorado, near my sister and her family.
On December 1, 2009 I woke up in a hotel in West Virginia and began the next phase of my life. I decided to treat my first year in Colorado as an extended writer's retreat, writing full time and trying to find my niche as a professional writer, speaker and teacher. If I don't succeed, I have another year to find a "real" job before my funds run out.
Harold R. Braun
Harold "Hal" Braun was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, the youngest of 4 children. His father fought for Germany in World War II and his mother was left behind to survive the bombing of Wiesbaden. After the war, she met Edward Alexander, a U.S. Air Force NCO stationed at the nearby Air Base. Together they adopted Hal's infant niece, Gloria, who had been abandoned by her mother. Hal was in Good Humor ice cream commercials and a motion picture as a child, but didn't care for acting. He served about a year in the German navy and was released early so he could emigrate to the U.S. with his family. He, Gloria and their parents settled in Lake Worth, FL, and a few years later, Hal joined the U.S. Air Force.
We met at Langley AFB, VA and were married in the main chapel on July 16, 1983. His memorial service was held at the same chapel on October 5, 2007
Hal was a lifelong soccer player, coach and referee. He coached Little League and various base teams in addition to playing. In his late 40s he decided to give up playing and become a referee and made refereeing a second career.
We met at Langley AFB, VA and were married in the main chapel on July 16, 1983. His memorial service was held at the same chapel on October 5, 2007
Hal was a lifelong soccer player, coach and referee. He coached Little League and various base teams in addition to playing. In his late 40s he decided to give up playing and become a referee and made refereeing a second career.
