People occasionally ask me what I do to relax, recharge, and unwind. While the answer could be expansive if not exaggerated, I usually respond with one word: Write.

I discovered writing stories as a means of expression and escape going back to my childhood. Or, perhaps more accurately when my mother explained to me that I “didn’t have a good enough memory to be a successful liar.” And, “story-telling might be a better choice.”

Mothers, being who they are, and usually right about everything, pushed me down a better path. So, I occasionally write down the tall tales that too often swell-up from the depths of my imagination. To the surprise of most, I go about packaging my favorite stories into a printed version available to read from an obscure magazine, posted on the company blog, or buried deep within the Amazon catalog.  My favorites are fictionalized writings based on friends and family, and real locations and events thrust into an imaginary world.

My writings include a few marketing “how-to” books including “The 60-Minute Marketing Plan” and “Sports Marketing in Less than an Hour.”

I certainly do not write to become famous or to make a buck – there’s too much work and travel involved to achieve it. Instead, I write for the sake of it. Remember, this is about how I relax, not how I make extra money on the side.

Here are a few fiction stories I’ve penned that still tickle my imagination, for which I secretly hope Steven Spielberg will discover someday:

VideoCam – An ordinary man finds a video camera on a busy street and discovers his life and family are threatened by the images of a future only he can see when he looks into the viewfinder, and his dogged determination to find its owner and change destiny.

Forgotten (originally called The Fountain) – In the square of a desolate Arizona town called Forgotten sits a normally dry and dusty fountain that lifts the hopes and fixes the wrongs of the innocent victims who drink its’ aptly-timed flowing waters.

Puvungna – Two young brothers discover an ancient Indian village along the shores of a Southern California beach and the secret behind its disappearance over five hundred years ago.

Bank Holiday – An unfortunate fellow down on his luck is sent to New Orleans to make a sales call to save his job and marriage, only to find himself the unwitting finder of a bag full of loot tossed aside from a botched bank robbery. He struggles with the conflict of doing the right thing, keeping the cash, and ditching the bad guys hot on his trail.

How I Killed my Brother – Henry might have been the smart one in school, but Rudy got the pretty wife and the keys to Dad’s slip-cover factory. Brains fly out the window when Henry concocts a scheme to take over the family business and steal Rudy’s girl in this screwball comedy.

The Lord of Mercedes – A broken-down survivor who lives in an abandoned Mercedes-Benz car dealership in a post-apocalyptic world inspires his neighbors and fellow citizens to fight back against the sinister forces determined to destroy them, while finding hope for a  future of renewal.

Hot Rod High – Teens on summer break from their Huntington Beach, California high school spend a summer chasing love, the perfect wave, sun tans, fast cars, an encounter with a famous hot rod builder and a  beautiful blonde movie star.