My name is Stephen and I'm a 33yo from Virginia. I'm lucky to be married to a wonderful woman named Shauna that has literally turned my life around. (It is my personal opinion that even a decent woman can make any man better...and Shauna is far from average.)

 Unfortunately, Shauna is also very sick and it's been hard on us at times, with stays in the hospital occurring nearly once every month or so. But she is also very strong-much stronger than I've ever been able to convince her that she is-and she inspires me to always try just that much harder.

As far as my writing, I've been scribbling words on paper since a teacher in 3rd grade made our class jot down a quick story. I absolutely loved it, and have been addicted to writing ever since. Yet only in these last, several years have I seriously entertained the notion of attempting to truly make it my trade.

Strangely, my writing has seriously benefited my marriage. My wife has gastroparesis-a partially paralyzed stomach-among other inherited diseases (her father fought in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange) and she's always in quite a bit of pain. But when it gets bad, and especially when it's bad enough for her to go to the hospital, listening to me as I read my work actually helps distract Shauna from the pain. I guess you could say this is why I write now: it helps take away my wife's pain.

Links:

https://www.g-pact.org/

https://www.gofundme.com/ShaunasGP