I was eight when my dad told me, “Son, some day you’re going to have your own website.” And I said, “Dad, what’s a website?” And he said, “You know, those things on the internet.” And I said, “Dad, it’s 1979, the internet hasn’t been invented,” and he just patted my head, confidently.

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But he was right! Here it is, 2020, and I have a website. This is a home for my writing. I love writing and on occasion I’ve been paid to do so.

 

I’ve spent 20 years as a newspaper reporter, mostly with the Des Moines (IA) Register. I won a statewide award for story about a 10-year-old cold case, and wrote one of the most-read stories on the Register’s website about the first girl to qualify for the (previously) state boys’ wrestling meet. My work has appeared in 67 newspapers, including USA Today, the Miami Herald, the Chicago Tribune, and the Washington Post. I live in Lincoln, Nebraska with my wife, Martha Tanner, who is the wrangler of this site.

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I have finished my first book "Sound and Fury Signifying Something: Why People Love Heavy Metal" and am looking for an agent. It is a blend of research and personal stories about the music I love. You can read more about it in the "My Book" page on this site.

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If you'd like to email me, you can do so here: