J D Lowes

I proudly served in the United States Military. I've taught security and investigation and was once involved in Private Investigation in a wild and very colorful place called Las Vegas. I survived a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina. I'm a motorcycle enthusiast and enjoy shooting sports. I love animals and the outdoors. I have been blessed with the innate creative ability to form artful images using terracotta clay. I enjoyed being a figurative sculptor for over twenty years of my life.

Sculpting is a solitary endeavor where I spent hours alone with nothing more than a block of red clay, a few tools and my imagination - and a stereo system. Often while working, I listened to audio-books. As I sculpted, I would hear a varied group of novelists, covering several genre's. Some of my favorites are: Stephen King (I love horror), Clive Cussler (Adventure is a close second), Michael Connelly (LA Crime mystery guru), Stuart Woods (Stone Barrington is a guilty pleasure of mine), Anne Rice (Incredible way with words), Sandra Brown (She is one of the best), Randy Wayne White (my go-to Florida adventure guy), Greg Isles (Always worth a read), Dean Koontz (Right up there with Stephen King), John Saul (A yeoman's consistency) , Mario Puzo (Mom taught me to read using his books), Nelson DeMille (No nonsense adventure guy, love his work), Dan Brown (Very bright guy with an incredible way of telling a story) Tom Clancy (His books got me through all those hurry up and wait military moments) and I could go on and on. I love the way these very talented folks tell a story. Very much in the same way I came relatively late in life to sculpting, I became a novelist. Every time I saw a statue, I said to myself, "I can do that." Somehow, I just knew I could do it. Something inside me told me to try it. So one day I bought a can of Play-Dough and formed a Silver-back Gorilla using just my two hands and the image in my head. I was stunned how cool that gorilla looked and the rest is part of the history of my life.

The same thing happened to me with writing stories. I would listen or read books and say to myself, "I think I could write something entertaining enough that others would enjoy." So, I took a shot at writing a novel, "Sins of the Killer" and I soon learned the downside of wanting to become a writer - Rejection. I have a file filled with over one hundred rejection slips. I was crushed. But I did not give up. Actually, I did kind of give up for several years and fell back on figurative sculpting, but then, I had another idea for a book. In the mean time, the publishing world had changed drastically. Now it is easier than ever before in the history of the written word, to become a published author. Smashwords came to be and showed me a way to become self-published. I wrote, "The Seraph's Son" and did the whole electronic publishing thing and finally got a very entertaining horror story published. It's currently available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. I wrote this book intending on it becoming the scariest book ever written, second only to William Peter Blatty's , "The Exorcist," but I don't think it came out like that. It's a story about a broken guy, well into his life, and something unexpected happens to him that will influence the remainder of his days. It's good, I think you should check it out and see what you think. Write a review if you want.

Anyway, I tell stories now and love what I'm doing. It does not come to me as easily as sculpting did, but I find it very challenging and if truth be told, it's a challenge and very hard work to form your thoughts into a logical order of events that make up a coherent story. Self-Publishing offers a would-be author a degree of control and I like that. I am responsible for finding, and paying for the editing, formatting and have final say on the cover design. As you might imagine, it can be a real headache to handle all the technical minutia that is required. It often makes me yearn to just write and I must be honest about this, if given the option to just write over being responsible for all aspects that are involved with publishing, I think I would do it. I often wonder how the other half lives. How nice it is for all the author's listed above to be under the wing of one of the Big Five publishing houses. They get paid just to do what they do best - write. Everything else is coordinated and handled for them. However, until I get offered a gig writing for a noted publishing house, I'm very satisfied and grateful for the opportunity to get my stories out in the public eye.

Keep an eye out for my next book, "Volition - An Extraterrestrial Adventure." It will be out early Summer of 2015. If you have any interest in Aliens or UFO's, you will love this book. Have you ever wondered what you would do if you saved an alien's life and were offered the opportunity to go explore their world? Fox Mulder would love this book!