c. 1984 (age 10) – started writing The Great Racecar Mystery, a story featuring my heroes the Hardy Boys. Of the many stories I created, the only one I started to put on paper.

1989 – begins writing untitled comic book series, starring Canyon, an athletic hero with some connection to the Grand Canyon…or something. A villain, the Old Mystik, ended up in my first attempt at a novel and the creation of The Magistress. She became Lady Amaranth in The Lost Royals.

1991-1992 – Feature, sports, and fiction writer for high school paper, Hoofbeat. Discovered I preferred fiction to news.

1994 – Changed major from Computer Science to English Writing at the end of sophomore year.  Started writing a lot more.

1995 – Contributor to college newspaper at Concordia College. Reaffirmed preference for fiction over news.

1995 – started writing epic novel Days of Olde, a story of a young prince who becomes an adventurer. Later abandoned, yet pieces live on in the Lost Royals, including the prince who would become Prince Samor, who is now Tildy’s brother and the protagonist of Project Two.

1996 – Short story “The Deer Stand” published in Afterwork at at Concordia College

1996 – Short story “The Crow Kept Pulling” published in Afterwork at at Concordia College

1998 – Short stories published online*: “Cannibal Lies”, “Mama Said, Mama Said”, “Sweet Knife”, and “The Runaway Stone”. This last one featured a rock creature that found new inspiration in Days of Olde and finally came to life in The Lost Royals. (*Stories lost to time as technology advanced. I was not very careful backing up my writing back then).

1998 – started Wallevand’s Words (blog)

1999-2003 – executive letter writer for Best Buy, including correspondence with offices of the Attorney General and Better Business Bureau

2001-present – Freelance business owner, offering professional writing services for small businesses, job seekers, and fiction writers

2003-2008 – Promotion Planner for Best Buy, which included writing and developing marketing/advertising strategies; copywriting; proofreading; and designing presentation decks

2005 – Wallevand’s Grand Blog-o-rama (now defunct)

2006 – Wrote several drafts of novella Healed (abandoned paused)

2006 – Wrote and prepared Best Buy presentation to Sir George Martin and Neil Aspinall (of the Beatles and Apple Corps)

2007 – 2010 – Wrote several children’s books and short stories (unpublished)

2007 – Worked with start-up company to develop children’s stories for bilingual families

2007 – pitched The Demon and Mrs. Chang comic book series to Marvel Comics. Rejected.

2009 – Started WordPress blog Wallevand’s Fiction (it’s still out there, but popular content is moving here)

2009 – Dabbled in flash fiction, including Eight Seconds to Sidewalk.

2009 – Top Honorable Mention and Honorable Mention in writing contest for Forever Nocturne magazine

2009 – Started pursuing representation for children’s books, then stopped to change careers and focus on special needs child. Six-year pause on fiction writing career begins.

2010-2012 – Sr. Marketer at Thomson Reuters, responsible for marketing the flagship product of the nation’s largest online legal service, FindLaw

2012-2015 – Product Manager at Thomson Reuters: product developer and content strategist

2015-present – Sr. Product Manager at Thomson Reuters, for content and websites

2015 – started writing The Lost Royals series

2016 – developed website and social presence to market The Lost Royals

2018 – featured employee on Thomson Reuters careers blog. I wrote about it here: Helping Define Your Company’s Culture.

2019 – finished the final draft of Project One

2019 – on December 30, started Project Two