John Laird

John Laird

Author, Reader

Rio Rancho, NM

     Born and raised in Michigan, I attended Long Beach State College in California after high school. Moving back to Michigan after seven years, I spent twenty-six years in law enforcement, before relocating to New Mexico and adding another five years with a local department. 

I enjoyed writing in high school, excelled in English (although I didn't like the subject). I continued writing the first couple of years in college, and was advised by several people to submit items to publications, although I never did. Then, it was a matter of "life getting in the way" of my writing, and any literary future was put on the back burner--way back.

About seven years ago I was getting ready to give it another go when my daughter became seriously ill and I was derailed again. Finally, last year I took the plunge; I figured God must be getting pretty impatient with me.

I've had a couple of short stories published and won the "Silver Quill Society Best Short Fiction 2011." So, although I've been really slow off the starting line, it's time to get going--to "keep on keeping on."

 

 

 

Current Project

Currently, I'm "amassing" a number of short stories with the ultimate goal of putting together an anthology of the best of them. Of course, as with all writers, the idea of "the great American novel" is lurking in the back of my mind--ideas for said novel already peculating in those inner recesses...

My AuthorStand Titles

Simon, a chess player, meets a beautiful and mysterious woman, Sarah, in a city park. She is also a chess player, but she does not play the game for fun; her stakes are a little higher... 
What are the odds that an old man and a young woman could find love, happiness and a future together?  
ADULT THEME--    It was a dream come true; a beautiful and seductive woman chose him over everyone else. But maybe some dreams are better left unfulfilled...
 A mother mourns the loss of her only child. How does she pick up the frayed ends of her life and move forward?
Folowing a terrorist bombing in a crowded sports arena, a young woman is trapped in the rubble, alone and dying. Someone sees her, stops and stays with her until the end... 
 Since the violent death of his wife, depression had pushed Justin to the edge of the abyss; insanity was calling from the darkness. Would finding an old camera and its images push him over the edge? Maybe...

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Zachary Gilpin tells us how Good Morning, Magpie came to life, who he is as a writer and what comes next, both in the Magpie world and in his upcoming stories...
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