User:Russinmy

I'm a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. I received my bachelor's degree from the George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where I completed a degree in English, music and education during the 1970s. I received a master's degree in communication, journalism, and creative writing from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, near Chicago, in 1981.

I was married for seven years and have a son, John Mark, who works in St. Petersburg, Russia as a teacher of English as a second language. His wife's name is Jennifer, and I have a young grandson, Jake. I also have a younger brother, Johnny, who is a doctor and lives in with his wife, Susan, in South Carolina. I lived in California for 25 years. I am a committed Anglican, and though brought up a Methodist, I was confirmed in the U.S. Episcopal Church in 1980. My spirituality is a truly important part of my life.

During the 1970s, I lived in Appalachia for several years and worked variously as a school teacher, professional musician, restaurateur, and bookstore manager. I was also lifestyle editor with The News Chief in Winter Haven, Florida, in the early 1980s and for many years worked as a technical writer for the computer industry, from the late 1980s until 2010.

I've published short stories and poetry in regional literary magazines, Arkenstone, the Ozark Review andThe Epiphany. My teleplay "Shy's Hill," based on a Civil War theme, was produced in connection with the PBS television station in Springfield, Missouri in the late 1970s. I was a journalism intern with Sojourners magazine in Washington, D.C., during the summer of 1979. For Sojourners, I wrote an article on the politics of Pat Robertson that predicted Robertson's run for the presidency a decade later. The article included a personal interview with the future candidate.

I wrote the screenplay for the independent film The Last Year (2002), which received limited theatrical release and good critical reviews. The film is currently available on DVD. My novel The Night Hunter is also available from the publisher Xlibris. I have written five novels, as well as a life's work of poetry. Much of my poetry is published, along with my commentary and information on my writing work, on my personal website at: http://www.rwilliamswriter.com

Currently, I live in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia (near Kuala Lumpur) with my partner, Michael Tay, and work as a film-maker and free-lance writer. My favorite pastimes include music (all kinds, mostly classical, jazz, classic rock, and progressive pop), film, photography, exercise, hiking, the natural sciences, Dungeons and Dragons, and studies in myth and legend, especially the work of Joseph Campbell.

In Hollywood, I'm seeking the production of my crime drama Good Night, Sweet Prince. I'm also starting work on another novel, an international tale of exile, vengeance, and redemption, now tentatively titled As Dreams Are Made. In addition to general free-lance writing, I am continuing to write my poetry and post it in the personal blog at my website.