About

Journey to Becoming a Novelist

I watched the Star Wars movie when it was first released in 1977 and was totally engrossed by it. Fast forward thirty years or so and I watched The Truth Project DVD series at our church and was totally angered by it. I came away from this series believing that Western civilization and Christianity were being systematically circumvented by lies and distortions. My first thought was to write something to refute macro-evolution, so I went to the bookstore and bought a Microbiology for Dummies book. Being a former English/History major who barely got through high school biology, I soon realized that I wasn’t equipped for this task. I later read somewhere that you should “write what you know.” I asked myself, “What do I know?” and came to the conclusion that I knew the Bible pretty well, so perhaps I could write something about that which was exciting and engaging. During this same period a former pastor of mine encouraged me to study the book of Ephesians in the Bible. The image of The Wall came to me as I was running on the treadmill and memorizing Ephesians 1. This was immediately followed by an explanation in my mind of what it meant. I wrote The Wall because I wondered what it would be like to actually go there, and because I wanted to understand what really goes on the heavenly realms, based on what has been revealed to us through creation and the Bible.

Hobbies

• Running. I run so I can write. It makes me feel better, reduces stress and helps me focus. I’ve run a number of half-marathons and marathons, but stick to shorter distances now.
• Reading. I love fiction classics like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, as well as any non-fiction historical books by David McCullough.
• Movies.  I love science fiction and fantasy movies like the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Star Trek series.
• Beach.  I love walking on the beach at Watch Hill, Rhode Island, and when I’m not walking, just gazing out into the ocean, body-surfing, or napping.

Resume

• Raised:  Farmington, Connecticut, attended public schools K-12.
• College: Brown University, majored in English/American Literature and History.
• Military Service:  United States Marine Corps, First Lieutenant.
• Graduate School:  Emory University Business School.
• Experience:  Worked in the IT departments of various financial services firms, first as developer and later as a program/project manager .
• Family:  Rick is married with two adult children and a daughter-in-law, and resides in Connecticut.