Dwight Norris

I've been a writer almost all my life. I wrote my first poem at 17, continued writing poetry through my 20's. When I decided to get serious about writing I took a course in novel writing and one in short stories. I've written three novels, two screenplays, numerous fiction and non-fiction articles and about a dozen short stories.

I am a recently retired teacher and communication expert and live in the Mojave Desert in southern California with my two dogs, Tula and Elvis. I recently completed my third novel, Johnny McCarthy: A Coal Miner’s Son and am working on my fourth book.

I am currently president of the High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club and have participated in their Dorothy C. Blakeley Memoir project, teaching high school students to write memoirs about senior citizens. I've joined with other members in teaching writing workshops to inmates at the Federal Correctional Complex in Victorville, and have recently organized and executed the publication of an original memoir of Jack London by one of his childhood friends.

As you might expect, I love to read. My number one all-time favorite author is John Steinbeck. A close second is Ernest Hemingway. The work of Dean Koontz has been instructional and inspirational to me, and he has occasionally offered a word of encouragement. I especially like the writings of Ken Follett. Charles Dickens is hard to ignore, and then there is W. Somerset Maugham and D. H. Lawrence. Ah, so much to read, so little time.