About the Author

R. L. Brush lives in northern California, where he teaches high school and raises the last of his six children.

He is an avid comic book fan and tabletop strategy gamer. He also plays guitar and sings in a top-40 / rock band on weekends.

Writing is his passion and 'Jesse Steele And The Secret Of Otherworld' is the first installment in the Otherworld trilogy, which he professes, came to him in a dream.

Currently, he is busy penning book two of the trilogy 'Jesse Steele And The Shadow Knight Of Otherworld.'

Reflections

As I sit here at this old keyboard yet again, I reflect upon the amazing journey I have just taken. I remember growing up and my mom always telling me, “Robin, you’re going to be a great writer one day.” Of course, growing up, all I wanted to do was play music, so I would just smile and tell her, “No, Mom, I’m going to be a rock star.” Life sure has a funny way of changing one’s priorities.

Although this new journey began for me back in 1993, it wasn’t until July 7, 2007 that I took its first steps. I woke up from a VERY vivid dream at 3:00 A.M. with a strong sense of déjà vu and a compelling urgency to write it down so I wouldn’t forget. The dream contained every little detail of the ‘Otherworld’ trilogy; all the plots, subplots, and the main characters, complete with their personalities. It was so intense and familiar that I knew I had to write it down so I could preserve all the detail. Wouldn’t you know it? At three o’clock in the morning, I couldn’t find a pad of paper to save my life! After rummaging through the entire house, I ended up in my recording studio, rifling through the drawers where I keep lyric notebooks. I found one dated 1993 and started flipping through pages, trying to find a blank page to use. What I found nearly knocked me off my feet! In those pages, I ran across sketches of some of the characters in my dream, as well as a two page, hand-written synopsis! It then dawned on me why it all seemed so familiar . . . I had the SAME dream in 1993 and had woke up and said, “Wow, I’ve got to write this down so I don’t forget it.” So I did . . . then promptly lost the notebook. Go figure.

I started writing ‘Jesse Steele and the Secret of Otherworld’ the very next day. It wasn’t an easy task trying to juggle a job and family, especially with four of my six kids still at home. In fact, the only time I had to write was late at night, and I remember several nights, falling asleep at the keyboard and waking up to find that I had typed several pages of a single letter that my hand fell on while I slept. But all in all, the story unfolded organically and the book virtually wrote itself.

It took nearly a year for the first draft to be completed and another year and a half to complete the many following drafts and edits. During that time, several events happened in my life. I became a grandfather and I lost my mom. My only regret in this entire journey is that my mother was not able to read my novel before she passed away. I know she would have been proud . . . and probably would have said, “I told you so.”

So, here I am, once again at this keyboard, working on book two of the trilogy, as well as a couple of other projects. I am a writer, just as my mother predicted. But whether I’m ‘great’ or not is not for me or even my mom to decide . . . it’s up to you, the reader. It is however, my sincerest hope and prayer that as you read Jesse’s adventures, you will allow him and his extended family, Javier, Kai-ying, and Sarah to enter your minds and hearts as I did, and share with them their love, sorrow, pain, and triumph. It truly is an amazing journey, and it’s just starting. Thank you for making it with me.