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I grew up in Jacksonville, Alabama, where I always had a passion for writing and history. Upon obtaining my degree in secondary education/history from Jacksonville State University, I began writing Letters to a Savage in my free time with no real expectations for the future of the project. When I got some friends and family to read and edit the book, I realized it could turn from a fun hobby to something much more.
Over the three years I worked on Letters to a Savage, the story spoke to me in ways I could never have imagined. My ideas for the book started small, and it began as a fun little tale about war and history. In the story, Rodrigo and his twin best friends, Diego and Antonio, find themselves on the edge of the world in a land shrouded by mystery. Under the command of Hernan Cortes, the Spanish expedition pushes deep into the heart of the New World and comes in contact with the mighty Aztec Empire. War and death were the early themes of the book, but as my skills as a writer progressed, I attempted to reach a wider range of audiences and provide a deeper meaning to the story. This is when I revamped the book (several times) and incorporated a tale of love, friendship, and devotion to go along with the still-present masculine elements of war and death. Through a system of imaginary letters that Rodrigo and other characters write in their minds, a tale of tragedy and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds is spun that alters the course of history and rocks the very fabric of life for everyone involved. When the writing and editing process was finally completed, I looked upon this story as a guide to how to live a life of honor and pride. Yes, it has very thematic, superficial elements such as gruesome violence, language, and sexual content, but the theme of fighting for what you love no matter the cost is the element that stands out the most in my opinion. I hope everyone enjoys reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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