I am a writer, residing in Virginia. I enjoy writing historical fiction. I also write a blog, which consists of essays, narrative sketches, and poetry, when the spirit moves. I have always been a writer, in one form or another, but over the years I have worked in many professions: as a former banker, Coast Guard officer, intelligence officer, assistant professor, speechwriter, and an account manager for a major corporation. As you might surmise, I enjoy the spice of life. Some would suggest with good reason that I simply can’t decide what I want to be when I grow up.
I grew up in many places on both coasts, but came of age in an old farmhouse, situated on fifty wooded acres, near a small village in the Pocono Mountains. Among other things, I enjoyed a life of hunting and fishing, reading and writing, and daydreaming about someday becoming a famous author. I still enjoy all those things.
Lately, I have embarked on a new career as an author to exercise some creative talents that will not stay quiet any longer. I’ve always known deep down that I’d have to take this fateful step one day, although I haven’t always admitted the sometimes latent apprehension to myself. It takes enormous courage to become a writer, and it’s only lately that I’ve mustered enough of the stuff to step out. Better late than never, I suppose.
For personal and professional reasons that make sense to me, if nobody else, I’ve chosen to write under a pseudonym. My given name is Theodore Alton Bull. My friends and family call me Ted. Some still insist on Teddy, which is fine, since I’m the namesake of my father and grandfather, who was named after Teddy Roosevelt.
My father was from New Jersey; my mother is a southern belle from Louisiana. They met and married in the middle, in Greenville, South Carolina, where I was born. God indeed works in mysterious ways. I do firmly believe, however old-fashioned it may be, that God’s hand is in everything, and that all things, even the most terrible events or hardships, eventually work to the good of those who are called by his name. I make no apology for it.
I wish I could say that I’m a Southern writer. Although I was born in one southern state and have made my home in another, I can’t honestly lay claim to the heritage as a true southerner, since most of my formative years took place north of the Mason-Dixon line. But, given what heritage I do have, I’ve always been interested, since I can’t remember when, in the Civil War. Perhaps you can appreciate my fascination. To me, with a foot in both lands, so to say, understanding that conflict goes to the heart of knowing what it is to be an American.
It should come as no surprise that I’m a big fan of Shelby Foote and his writing. I especially wish that I had been blessed with a storytelling tongue as melodious and fluid as his was, though his is now silent. My tongue never could keep pace with my mind. That’s why writing is so important to me in expressing my thoughts to others.
I recently published my first novel, titled Find the Wind’s Eye. I’m now at work on a sequel, which I hope to finish in the fall of 2024.
Thanks for visiting my website. I hope you enjoy it.