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About me
From Westminster, I set out to further my theological studies at Princeton where I spent three stimulating years, in
my graduate studies, in field work, and working as a laborer at Princeton Fuel Oil. My goal was to finish my master's work and then
go on for a PhD with an eye toward teaching church history. But life and people have a way of intervening. My field work in the town
of Kingston and my truck driving turned me back into the real world. (I suppose I was already doing research for the McGowan books.)
After graduation and for thirty-one years, I pastored congregations, completed a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton, and got involved
in all levels of community development.
My first call was a staff position at a large church in Upper
Arlington. My second was to Toronto, Ohio, a river town that provides the background for Hatteras in the McGowan books. From there,
I went to Oil City, Pennsylvania and then to Dayton, Ohio. Community involvement in each of these calls gave me access to mental health
centers, home nursing programs, community policing and development, and civil boards of directors. In the Dayton area, I served in
three churches, Centerville, Dayton's urban west side, and Fairborn. In August of 2001, a friend of mine approached me to see
if I would be interested in teaching a course at Wright State. The school year was about to begin, and faculty realignment created
a open section of a general education course called "Great Books: The Bible." That one-time gig was extended six more times until
I was asked to come over, full time, to the faculty. I jumped at the chance, and taught both religion and philosophy. I had come full
circle from my graduate school days. I was now teaching in a University and writing, writing, writing.
In 2005, my wife and I moved to the north coast to be near sailing and Lake Erie. Our local TV channels come out of Cleveland, and
my novels and poetry are rising out of the binary files of my computer. In 2006, Night Voices was published by Drinian Press, and
I won the Robert Frost Poetry Award from the Frost Foundation in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Even as my imagination was sailing with
Shrader Marks and Cathy Pearson, Davis McGowan returned as the fictional character that could more fully tell the story of my life
experience. McGowan's Call was followed by McGowan's Retreat. Next in line is McGowan's Return. Stay tuned!
