Gary A. Keel

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

GARY A. KEEL holds degrees in political science and public administration. He enlisted in the military, spent a year in Vietnam, then enjoyed a career with the federal government—which included serving in executive positions and appointments under presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. His work has taken him around the world and provided a foundation for his political novels.

Sometimes I’m asked why I began writing---

I appreciate the question because as a retiree from the financial world with no literary background, I am such an unlikely author. I once heard that successful people are those who do difficult things that others can do, but won’t. In my case, I was led to write while recovering from a brief illness. Between EKGs, MRIs, and other tests, I laid in a hospital bed for five days listening to endless news coverage of the Arab Spring. Egypt and Libya were in turmoil and governments throughout the Middle East were being challenged. The news spurred me to wonder what a similar movement in the United States might look like. At that time, dissatisfaction with our government churned just below the surface. Concern about government overreach, corruption, and the lack of accountability on the part of politicians was growing daily. Many freedom lovers like me, worried about the future of their children and grandchildren.

With all of this in mind, I envisioned a scenario where, unlike in the Middle East, our citizens call a State Convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to reform the government. As an “organic writer”, I simply described the story I envisioned in mental pictures and the pages flowed. The more I wrote, the more I enjoyed it. As soon as the first novel was complete, I wrote a sequel with a mind-bending plot based on the characters in the first novel. By the end of thirteen months, I had pounded out four-novels in a series entitled “Strife in America.”

Throughout the process, I continued to hone my writing skills with dramatic results. My thought processes changed completely. People, places, and circumstances looked different. I realized that this special discernment allows writers to expose readers to a unique perspective, one that I want to share. In fact, stories allow people to dream through another’s imagination.