Who inspires you? It could be a favorite writer, the best teacher you’ve ever had, your mom, your dad, a beloved great uncle, Jesus or all sorts of others whose hearts are in the right place. I could name many people throughout my lifetime who have helped, inspired, me in a multitude of ways.

I won’t make a list of all of their names, but I’d like to give a thank-you to every writer I’ve ever read for their inspiration in my life. Falling in love with reading at the age of 19 helped save my life. Video game heroes as a boy never did this for me. They were and our heroes in their game worlds. In the story of my real life I needed real heroes to save my days.

Two of the first writers works I ever read because I wanted to read for knowledge and fun…