Hi, everyone and welcome to my website!  I suppose you're wondering what the P.C. stands for in my name. Well, if you don't mind, I'd prefer to keep that a mystery for now. (hint: It's not Pretty Cool but you know how authors love to play with words.) When I was a boy one of my greatest joys were the moments when my family and I would watch cartoons and animated films together. My Dad wasn't easy to get to know, but when we watched Roadrunner cartoons and the Coyote's plans led to that infamous drop into the canyon, I never felt more connected when we all laughed together. I believe that's where my desire to write and draw stories comes from. The Disney films, especially the first five that Walt personally supervised had always intrigued me more than any of the others-the great art and touching stories- they were without question moving masterpieces! I thought that when I got older I would have a chance to work at an animation studio. But sometimes life's misfortunes lead us away from our true desires. Discouragements work their way in as well (I'm sure everyone's heard the term 'starving artist') For a number of years I worked at factories and warehouses, drove delivery trucks and buses. For a time, I was a E.M.T. and Paramedic for the City of Saint Louis, tending to injuries, saving lives and, oh yes, delivering babies (maybe you're one of those babies all grown up now!)  So what brought me back to my desire to create? There was a birthday coming up for my little niece. Finding that perfect card led to disappointment. So I made one for her. Then I made one for my other niece. Then came the beautiful little notes and drawings that they sent back to me with their thanks and encouragement. Never underestimate the power of a child!           

HOW PETRO CAME ABOUT:  In the spring of 1970 I lost my mother to cancer. My father had his hands full trying to raise four boys on his own and I was sent away to camp that summer.  One evening I joined a group near a campfire. Nothing was going well. The girl I was attracted to was kissing someone else. I almost drowned the day before trying to prove I could swim. When I walked away from the fire that chilly night I looked up and saw a star falling from the skies. The world suddenly became silent and I felt a warmth covering me. It's hard for me to explain that event. All I knew was something special had happened, perhaps a message of hope at a time when I was feeling so much sadness. Fast forward to the mid 1990's and the correspondence with my nieces. One day I discovered how much they loved Disney's 'Lion King' and wondered if I could expand my talents by writing and illustrating a story they would equally enjoy. When I began, that fallen star stuck in my mind. How could I incorporate that message of hope into a story that would be entertaining and thoughtful? That's when idea of Petro came to be. At first the writing flowed well but connecting all the ideas together proved to be difficult. I had a manuscript riddled with problems. A writing group offered moral and technical support, but I knew it would be extremely difficult to find a publisher. Then my nieces moved away to another state and we lost touch. Not long after that I decided to pursue other things. My illustrations for local magazines and periodicals weren't paying me enough to buy a happy meal once a week. So Petro and my art were put away in a file cabinet , left untouched and forgotten for 25 years.

PETRO RETURNS:  Due to an unexpected knee injury I was forced to retire early in 2015. I was unprepared for all the spare time I had and was looking for something to do. It's funny how time can make you forget about the things you were good at. Then one day a friend suggested that I take up a hobby. That didn't sound like much of a solution for the boredom, until I was asked if I was good at anything. "I used to write and draw a little." I replied. At first I was reluctant to dig out that old manuscript, but when I did it brought me back to life. I reread the story and finally saw solutions to its problems. Petro had too many words and not enough illustrations. So I edited the 15,000 word manuscript down to 4,900 and added 46 illustrations. The project nearly took me two years to complete and, to tell you the truth, I never had so much fun! My greatest challenge was the desire for my book to stand up to those classic Disney films. I hope you will find it meet those expectations.

PETRO, THE BRAVE LITTLE CARGO PLANE is a 96 page book with 64 color illustrations that's soon to be released  this late November for everyone. Easy to read text with beautiful illustrations. For kids 8 to 98 and for the younger ones, it becomes an enticing bedtime story- A quality time reading for parents who want to connect more with their child.