Sitting down to write about myself is an interesting process as—as a journalist—I am much more used to, and comfortable with, writing about other people.
But, I figure you should know a little about the person who drafted the novel, Guardian’s Return.
Let’s begin ever so briefly in the beginning. I was born Dec. 11, 1969, in Sylmar, California, but I
was raised in Torrance, California — a large city along the coast. The only really noteworthy point about my youth was that from a very early age, I loved to write. When my elementary school teachers assigned creative writing projects, most students would write a page or two, while I would write ten pages. And I know mine were the best stories because my mother, who was a volunteer typist for my classes — and would type every story we wrote — told me so. Hopefully, you’re laughing right now.
My love of writing was furthered by my grandmother — Mama Simon — who one day gave me a big paper bag filled with comic books. From that moment, I fell in love with adventure stories and stories of heroes. I loved comics. And from comics, I started to read Choose Your Own Adventure stories, which led me to fantasy and science fiction novels. I loved them all, especially the works of Tolkien.
My interest in the written word led me into high school journalism, and I knew from my first journalism classes that someday I would want to be a newspaper reporter. It was a natural progression as a writer; plus I had a fascination with following a story, finding the facts, interviewing people and telling their stories.
I majored in journalism in college and in 1993 I earned my bachelor’s degree in newspaper journalism. I then left the country for a year to live in Israel and explore the Middle East. Upon returning, I made a fateful choice that would guide the rest of my life.
I took a job as reporter for the Imperial Valley Press in Imperial County, a not-so-quiet desert community one hundred and fifty miles due east of San Diego. For the next fourteen years, I would write for the IV Press, and I loved every minute and every story. The stories were exciting, the people fascinating and the features I had a chance to do opened my eyes to the world. Plus, in coming to the Valley, I met the woman who would become my wife and we built a family together. The Valley gave me a chance to discover another passion — teaching. I earned a master’s degree in English and have taught English composition as an associate professor for seventeen years.
Today, I am no longer a full-time journalist. I work in public affairs dealing with California’s controversial water issues, which still keeps me writing quite a bit. I continue to teach college English at the local community college in my region, and I still write feature stories for three magazines, two regional and one statewide.
But, then there is my fiction writing. It has long been my dream to write books for young and middle readers to inspire them the way I was inspired to write by the books I read and by the people who surrounded me. Throughout my twenties I worked on my skills as a writer by drafting short stories. None were ever published, but just the writing was a joy. I would write late at night when the family was asleep. I would put on my headphones, listen to music and write away the hours.
Eventually, my interest turned to writing a novel and thus was born the idea for the Guardian’s Return. Today I have penned three books, two of which are set to be published and one that just found an agent. Reaching this point has been a long journey, but in many ways my journey as a writer has only begun. And, if I might impart some advice to any young (or older) readers out there who think they might want to write, just do it. Sit down, write and have fun. Do not judge yourself—but simply enjoy your role as a creator and make the most of your imagination.
Good luck to all of us who dream of being writers.
Darren Simon, Author