My work comes from the intersection of history, imagination, and experience.
Essays
Essay #1: Why the Real Al-Qaida Attack Question Is Timing, Not Intent (January 9, 2026)
Essay #2: Where Iran Is in the Eight-Stage Revolutionary Process (January 12, 2026)
Featured Works
Eight Stages: A Primer on Modern Revolution
Non-Fiction
Release: 11 August 2026, by Koehler Books.
A clear, nonpartisan roadmap to understanding how revolutions really work.
Eight Stages is a guide to the life cycle of modern revolutions—how they begin quietly, how they gather momentum, how they fracture, and how they finally resolve. Drawing on history, comparative politics, intelligence analysis, and today’s social dynamics, the book explains complex patterns in plain, accessible language.
This is not a “how-to” manual for starting a revolution. It’s a practical tool for recognizing the danger signs early, understanding the forces at work, and—most importantly—finding ways to prevent violence and restore stability before lives are lost.
If you’ve ever wondered why societies unravel, or how they heal, Eight Stages offers a framework for making sense of the moment we’re living in.
Psalm for the Damned
Fiction
A dark, atmospheric tale where violence, mercy, and redemption collide.
Psalm for the Damned follows Vincent Rinaldi, a young Italian-American in 1911 Hell’s Kitchen whose life unravels in moments, only to be transformed from a young hoodlum into something far worse and far more tragic. Caught between hunger and conscience, shunned by those who fear him and haunted by the memory of the woman who turned him into what he is, Vinnie walks the thin line between monster and man.
Across the decades, Vinnie learns what it means to have a soul, and what mercy can come from someone who many call a monster
From Hell’s Kitchen, to the New York waterfront, through the hell of World War II Europe and beyond, Vinnie shoulders his burden, guiding others on to their destiny, and rediscovering his faith.
Rooted in history, sharpened by supernatural darkness, Psalm for the Damned is both violent and tender—a horror story with a heart.
Fiction
A sweeping historical-fiction saga
Follow Calum Tanneyhill, a young Scotsman whose life is shattered during the 1691 sack of Dùn Mhèad and reshaped across continents. Violence, survival, faith, and destiny intertwine as he navigates an unforgiving world.
Podcast and Media
Connecting With Cove
Live/Recorded
Conversations, stories, and voices from the heart of Copperas Cove.
A local podcast about the people who make our town remarkable.
A storytelling and interview podcast covering the people, issues, and events shaping Copperas Cove. New episodes will spotlight local personalities, community challenges, and uplifting stories from around town.
The Hidden Revolution
Live/Recorded
A podcast about the ongoing revolution in the US, and the efforts to counter it.
A podcast dissecting today’s turbulent world through the Eight Stage Theory of Revolution. Coming episodes examine rising instability, historical case studies, and what can be done before violence becomes inevitable.
Art
Metallic Flow 3
Metallic resin and mica powders on canvas
A kinetic ribbon of molten color suspended in darkness. Metallic Flow 3 captures the motion of heat, metal, and breath—silver and copper folding into one another in a single sweeping arc. The form feels alive, almost airborne, as if a glowing ember were stretching itself into a new shape. A study in contrast and motion, it balances control with wildness, and silence with energy.
…they just fade away
Acrylic on Canvas
A solemn, minimalist silhouette of the soldier’s cross—helmet, rifle, boots, and dog tags—emerges from a hazy field of textured green, as if dissolving into memory. This piece reflects the quiet dignity of military sacrifice and echoes General Douglas MacArthur’s final words at West Point: “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.”
A tribute to those who served, and the lingering presence of those who never returned.
Acid Beach
Acrylic on Canvas
A vivid wash of molten color sweeps downward in Acid Beach, where cool turquoise, searing yellow, deep crimson, and electric blue collide in fluid, cascading motion. Each vertical band dissolves into organic drips and marbled textures, echoing the pull of surf and tide—but through the lens of something dreamlike, corrosive, and surreal.
The piece captures the tension between beauty and distortion: a shoreline imagined in impossible hues, where color erodes form and emotion melts into abstraction. Bold, kinetic, and immersive, Acid Beach draws the viewer into a world where nature and imagination flow into one another without boundaries.
About Me
Every life is a story. This is mine.
I’m an author, veteran, artist, and storyteller based in Central Texas. My work spans nonfiction, dark fiction, art, and community-centered podcasts — all grounded in a lifelong drive to understand conflict, mercy, and the quiet courage found in ordinary people.
My Team at LSA Anaconda, Diyala Province, Iraq, 2006
For over 35 years, I worked in counterintelligence operations and analysis, studying how revolutions form, how societies fracture, and how people can interrupt the cycle before it turns violent. That work shaped the ideas behind Eight Stages: A Primer on Modern Revolution and the larger research projects that have grown around it.
I’m also a three-time Texas Distinguished Veteran Artist, creating mixed-media art rooted in memory, struggle, and resilience.
At home in Copperas Cove, I co-host and produce community stories through Connecting With Cove, and explore global patterns of social change through The Hidden Revolution podcast.
My fiction — including Psalm for the Damned and Chaim’s Song of Praise — draws on history, faith, and the dark corners of human choice, offering characters who wrestle with the same moral tensions we all face.
At the Black Pig Restaurant, Bratislava, Slovakia
Get in Touch
If you’d like to reach out about my books, stories, podcasts, art, or upcoming projects, I’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re a reader, a listener, a fellow veteran, or someone curious about the ideas behind my work — you’re welcome here.