Grant Dukeshire

 From the back cover of a couple of his books:

Grant Dukeshire has been formally educated in mathematics, physics, engineering and business with degrees from Dalhousie and the University of Alberta. Besides working in the energy sector, his real  education came from raising a family, being a Scouting leader and simply hiking, skiing and cycling in the Canadian Rockies. He also plays some blues harp.

________________________________________________

Time to write as myself vs. my BarkBark persona — and to rah, rah some about life and all:

My days of writing began late. Although I attended university, my studies were primarily science-related, which afforded no serious opportunities for literary expression. However science spawns curiosity for answers and solutions. And since few thoughts ever become concrete until they hit the written page, my journey started with scribbles that eventually lengthened. Some musings were technical, some were about music, and some moved to general life-stuff.

My abilities improved slowly. Maybe I had no “natural” talent, or maybe I just lacked foundations, but I kept trying until eventually, I understood enough of what writing was about. The message left here is that — if I could manage a book, then certainly, many more people could too. Persistence usually pays.

One other aspect per improvement should get a special mention — writers need outside eyes. It may be hard to hear criticisms, but it is necessary for achieving acceptable progress. I used to play a bit of harmonica for myself — but only until I played out, where mistakes became obvious, did my abilities really improve to any degree. It is much the same for writing. Although we think we are self-critical, objective views are really only found from outsiders. Writers are encouraged to find outside eyes.

Anything worthwhile will generally involve some serious work. Bettering my musicianship has had its share of frustrations; however it has been one of my most rewarding endeavors. I finally can play blues harp — not so great, but at least I can. So now I enjoy life even more, as well as having increased confidence. Trying something new is valuable, even for your dreams that may sound impossible. We only live so long.

I never remotely thought that my writings would be read by others. They were simply to help me understand life. It is sincerely hoped that you will consider writing some as well, or at least, to encourage others to give it a try. It can be life-changing.

Grant Dukeshire