My Story

As a kid, I devoured stories of epic adventures and magical worlds thanks to my mom's influence. My first introduction to fantasy and magic was the Harry Potter series. I couldn't put the books down and would secretly read late into the night. I even started to write a short fan fiction story about it as a kid, but thankfully that was lost a long time ago. But my love for magic and adventure never went away and it helped me discover other fun adventures like the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and later The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan which have all influenced my writing style. These books inspired me to start writing my own fantasy series, Guardians of Legend, back in college. But after college, life got busy and for over a decade, my writing took a backseat as I was working full time and started down the path of creating a family of my own with my beautiful wife Nicole.  

​

Fast forward a few years and a couple kids later, I found myself itching to get back into my writing. I decided to dive back in with renewed purpose, determined to finish and publish my first book in my Guardians of Legend series - which is currently in the editing phase. Then life happened and the universe decided to throw me some unexpected curveballs. The first of which was my dad being diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer. This prompted my wife and I to move my father and nephew (who was living with him at the time) in with us to help provide care. My wife was a rockstar and took on the lions share of caring for my dad while I was working and he tried to fight off the cancer for as long as he could. My dad fought bravely for over six months, driven by his love for his grandkids and his desire to watch them grow even though he hated doctors. Sadly my dad passed away in late September of 2024 which left me and my family all heartbroken and grieving. 

​

​The universe still had a few more curveballs to throw my way though as I was laid off from my job of 14 years only a couple months later. On top of that, it became clear that I needed to pursue legal guardianship of my nephew in order to protect him and give him a better shot at life. I spent many hours and days working through legal documents and court hearings, but eventually we succeeded and were granted legal guardianship.

​

With that all behind me though, I was able to reflect deeply on my path forward and what truly mattered to me. Losing my father was tougher than I can describe, but it helped shift my perspective on life as it made me realize how fleeting it can really be. With that in mind, I dove back into my writing determined to follow my dreams and pursue my passion for writing. 

​

As I continued to work on my Guardians of Legend books, I also started writing my first children's book series, Magic Door Adventures. These were fun stories that were inspired by the bedtime stories that I would create for my two daughters, Raelynn and Aubrey. The first installment in the series is now complete and available on Amazon. (Head over to the My Books section for the direct link.)

I'm now hard at work on editing my first Guardians of Legend book and hope to get that published in the coming months. I will have more updates and stories to share in the future, so please sign up for my mailing list and I promise not to spam you. 

​

Thank you again for your support and for joining me on this journey.

​

Sincerely, 

Manny

Contact