Dennis G. Smith

I grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Following high school (Abraham Lincoln H.S.), I went to work as a draftsman for an architectural firm in Omaha. After a couple years working, I realized I really did need to further my education and started some college courses at Omaha University, and then Clarinda Iowa Community College until I ran out of money. So, back to work full time for the architects until I received my much-anticipated, but not desired, draft notice.

After a two-year stint in the Army, including a year as an infantry soldier in Vietnam, I used the G.I. Bill to continue my education at Iowa State University. I received a BS in Communications majoring in Telecommunicative Arts (broadcasting, TV and radio) with minors in English and Journalism. I thoroughly enjoyed several courses in Creative Writing which later helped me in the marketing phases of my construction career.

Today, I am a retired construction executive formerly involved in design/build commercial buildings. My career covered design, sales, estimating, proposals and management. Consequently, I spent a lot of time reading, writing, proofreading and editing technical documents and marketing proposals in the construction industry.

Once I retired, I paused from the keyboard a couple of years and then decided I missed having a creative outlet and began writing novels. I especially enjoy the challenge of tying my fictional characters in with historical events like I did in "Missouri's Secret" and "War Is Hell, A Love Story".

If there is a consistent theme in my books, it's this: I like putting common, ordinary people into extra-ordinary circumstances. And, I like developing my fictional 'common, ordinary characters' into very real-to-life people that you might recognize as someone you have known in your life. Other than that, all of my books are uniquely different. It's always advisable to write about what you know, and I have known a lot of good-hearted, common, ordinary people in my life . . . but, then, one day, something strange or unusual happens that affects one of these people that will live with them forever.

I hope you enjoy reading my work as much as I've enjoyed putting the stories together. Thanks for your support!

Dennis G. Smith