Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of my appointment to the NYPD

Forty years ago, on a brutally cold winter’s day not unlike today, I was sworn into the NYPD and began a twenty year career that would give me a front row seat to the best and worst that humanity had to offer. I was honored to wear the coveted shields of police officer, detective, and sergeant. There were days filled with laughter and others with tears and a profound sense of loss and I learned the solemn meaning of the Department motto: Fidelis Ad Mortem.

Little did I know, on that cold January day, that the experiences I garnered over those twenty years would provide fertile fictional ground that would serve as an inspiration for my writing career in the twenty years that followed my retirement.  At times it is hard to reconcile that the kid who used to read Joseph Wambaugh books is now a fellow member of his in the Mystery Writers of America.

It has been said that writing is a solo endeavor, but the reality is that the words on the paper only appear because of the interactions and experiences you’ve had throughout your life. Behind every author is a lifetime of people who helped him get over that finish line.

I am deeply grateful to all the opportunities that God has given to me and for the protections he has provided throughout my life. I am blessed to have a wife who not only put up with me, but encouraged my dreams. And I am thankful to all the readers who picked up my books and made them a success.