In 1991 I gave a crumby presentation at work. The response I got was a wakeup call. I had to do something about my presentation skills because presentations were part of my job. I joined Toastmasters in May and have never looked back. It has made a major difference in my life, including indirectly leading me to write Peacemaker.
For reasons known only to people who understand left-brained introverts, I have always daydreamed in words rather than pictures. As a result I began composing science fiction stories verbally when I was about nine — my daydreams. On my way to school one morning I saw an army recruiting poster in a post office window. It had a picture of a “true” spaceship against a star-laden backdrop. That image reached out and grabbed me. I wanted to be on it, exploring the solar system. From then on I told myself stories focused on outer space.
A few years later I discovered written science fiction in the form of Astounding and Galaxy magazines, and I was hooked. I not only read it, but I also began to write it. When I entered the Air Force Academy at seventeen, the time I once had spent on writing disappeared in school work and dating. Then I graduated, got married, and started twenty years of service in the Air Force followed by eighteen years as a software engineer, but the urge to write never disappeared completely.
Over the years I read every piece of science fiction I could: Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke. I was especially taken by Zenna Henderson’s People series. Eventually I got back to writing, and Poul Anderson became my guiding light. In fact, I suspect that one of his short stories, “A Live Coward,” was my inspiration because at some point my protagonist, Gus Colt, sprang out of my imagination. The result is Peacemaker, in which wits and daring are more important than strength of arms.
I live on five acres outside Elizabeth, Colorado, with my wife, Carol, two dogs, two cats, a horse, and a donkey. I have three grandchildren whom I don’t get to see nearly enough, and I’m dreaming about yet another speculative adventure.
gordonsavage 