Note from Darrel

​     I never studied much, school wasn’t a big interest for me. In retrospect, I wish I had.  But, what I did was read. Didn’t have much of a childhood, so I read to escape I suppose.  Four to five books a week—from middle school into adulthood.  You name it—I read it.  
     Changing schools over twenty times from kindergarten to twelfth grade gave me insight into people and circumstances—and the value of standing your ground.  I loved science fiction, but when the genre morphed to dragons and zombies, I dropped out.  
     Being raised in rural America bent me toward adventure novels and westerns, and I’ve been writing since I was young.  Reading an adventure novel and wanting to get on to the next one gave me the style in my writing of picking a week or so in the protagonist’s life and riding hell-bent from problem to solution.  My heroes are prone to suddenness of action and intent.
​     Writing can exorcise your demons, give you the pleasure of a story well told, and drive you to distraction.  But it is always a ride worth taking.
​​

Darrel Sparkman resides in Southwest Missouri with his wife.  Their three children and eleven grandchildren live nearby.  His hobbies include gardening, golfing, and writing.  In the past, Darrel served four years in the United States Navy, including seven months in Viet Nam as a combat search & rescue helicopter crewman.  He also served nineteen years as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician, worked as a professional photographer, computer repair tech, and along with his wife Sue, owned and operated  a commercial greenhouse and flower shop.  Darrel is currently retired and self-employed.  He finally has that job that wakes you up every day with a smile