Chuck Ball

Chuck Ball grew up in North Carolina. After High School, he worked his way around the world on a Norwegian freighter as a deck hand. This is when he began keeping a journal and thinking about becoming a writer. When he returned to the States, he went to Elon College with the intention of being an English major. The turbulent seventies sent him in another direction and he was swept up in the times, studying social science and philosophy. After graduation he worked on the grave yard shift of a milk carton factory and completed his first hand written novel. He then became a reporter for a small underground newspaper working on stories about the Watergate trials. Eventually he succumbed to the need to have an income big enough for rent and food. He went to work in the corporate world. There he spent long years in 'quiet desperation' in the pharmaceutical industry while raising a family.

"The Caribbean always held an allure for me. I often looked at the beautiful travel pictures in the airline magazines as I did the corporate grind, flying from one sales meeting to the next. I wondered if I would ever swim in those warm turquoise waters".

The chance came in 2004 when Chuck was caught in a corporate 'right sizing'. "My son was working as a carpenter on the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands. He suggested that I come on down. I couldn't pack fast enough and soon I left the cold, blustery States and stepped into the tropics. I was blown away. Everything was fascinating. The animals, the plants, the smells, the water, the culture. I could not believe I was waking up in paradise."

Chuck worked with his son at an eco friendly resort and recorded his observations in his journal. "That journal became the essence of 'Mingo's Cave'. I did a lot of research too but most of what I saw and heard and experienced was in my journal."

Chuck completed 'Mingo's Cave' in 2010 and is hard at work on his next novel. "I have discovered another island. Eleuthera, in the Bahamas is another fascinating place. Very different from the US Virgin Islands but full of wonder and mystery."

When Chuck is not in St. John or Eleuthera he lives on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. "The Outer Banks is a rugged barrier island and the locals share some of the same characteristics as people in the Caribbean in that they are extremely independent and resourceful. Both places face the challenge of struggling economies and exposure to hurricanes. These islands also are some of the most beautiful places on earth."

Chuck is working on his next novel; 'Preacher's Cave' which he hopes to finish soon. You can contact him at chuckballauthor@gmail.com