From Battlefields to Bookstores: One Author's Journey
- Andrew Heymann
- Jun 12, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 10, 2024
From the adrenaline of combat to the meticulous craft of storytelling, my journey has been anything but ordinary. "How did I get here?” has been a steady refrain throughout my life. Looking back on the (too) many years that have passed, I have absolutely taken the road “less traveled by.” (1)
My love of reading started early. When my father brought home a copy of “Red Sonja, Endithor’s Daughter,” (2) I was hooked on fantasy and science-fiction. Movies like Conan the Barbarian and Excalibur, along with the written works of Piers Anthony and Tolkien fueled my interest in all things swords and sorcery!
Throughout high school and college, I started numerous manuscripts…started, never finished. In college I studied Shakespeare; going so far as to finish my Master’s at Oxford University. The Bard’s cadence in his dialogue and understanding of the human condition is a huge influence on my writing.
A steady diet of sci-fi, fantasy, and Shakespearean characters made me want to be a “real, live, superhero!”. So, in 1999, I traded my pen for a sword…well, a rifle, and joined the Army. Any creativity focused on Operations Orders and Memorandums for Record rather than stories of daring-dos.
Fast forward to 2019 in Iraq. During video chats with my wife and two daughters (2 and 4, at the time) they’d say, “Read us a book daddy!” I would look something up online that I knew they had at home, and they would follow along. Often, I would make a story up on the spot to entertain them.
The idea of writing them an original story swiftly took shape. I wanted to create something that would not only entertain and teach them the value of sharing but give them a piece of me to always have while I was gone. The result was “The Mouse and the Cheese.”
And now we jump forward to 2023. As my retirement approached, the power of stories proved just as compelling as the call of duty. I decided to become a full-time writer. This gave me an outlet for my renewed creative energies and allowed me to be home with my family.
The other amazing thing that writing has given me is the ability to “work through sh*t”. Anyone who spends a significant part of their lives immersed in something naturally identifies themselves with that endeavor. For me, it was my military service.
My final two years in the Army were my most difficult. There’s always talk about glass ceilings. It hurts when you run into one—especially one you didn’t know was there.
I realized that the only way to break through would involve sacrificing my family’s stability. And for what? Another promotion and another probable deployment. Not worth it!
So here we are! From the battlefield to the bookstore. From warrior to wordsmith. I hope you’ll join me on this his journey and, together, we’ll discover how an extraordinary past fuels a thrilling storytelling future.
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