Meet Brian Whitfield:
Back when the world was a simpler place, in a little town on the outskirts of Fort Worth, Texas, Brian entered this world. Fate would soon take him to the gorgeous Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina, where he would be raised a gentleman. Throughout the years growing up that small mountain town Brian was subjected to the world of the paranormal, folklore, folktales and all things creepy. It was love at first fright for Brian.
He grew up with a respect and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of what lies beyond the veil. The small-town life was nice, interesting and full of adventures; however, Brian could not handle the small-town bindings. Ten days after he graduated from high school, Brian enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
and off he went to the infamous Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
Two days after Brian graduated from Parris Island and earned his title of a United States Marine, he married his beautiful high school sweetheart. This year they celebrated 27 years of marriage.
During his time in the USMC Brian served time in the Persian Gulf region and had some
amazing adventures seeing and learned more about the world than he ever imaged through his travels. Saying his time overseas was life changing is an understatement. Brian has since been rated as a disabled Gulf War era veteran due to a few injuries he suffered while enlisted. After being honorably discharged Brian continued his education as a full-time student and a full-time part-time worker, until he earned his degrees, concluding with his MBA focusing on business management.
The next two decades Brian spent as an entrepreneur, in conjunction, 17 of those years he spent as an associate professor and instructor for local colleges where he taught in the computer science and business departments.
Brian has always enjoyed writing. The bulk of his writing career has been in technical fields. As a teacher/instructor, Brian was known for his intriguing and creative lectures. As an entrepreneur one of Brian’s four store fronts catered to the financial sector, for nine years Brian wrote a weekly financial blog series, and for a time hosted a radio show of the same name, “Financial Fortress”.
In 2020-2021 Brian closed all of his stores to concentrate on a career path redirection. The redirection is focused on a lifelong dream of his, researching for, and writing, horror stories. Giving back to the community is another one of Brian’s passions. Brian has created and hosted several charity events over the years and was the co-creator and Executive Director of a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization from 2016-2022. The organization was a charity that helps spread awareness, education and assistance to those suffering from mental health concerns and issues, including depression, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, addiction, as well as helping those who are/were victims of domestic abuse and violence.
“Being happy in this life is important to me; doing what you love and what makes you
happy for the short amount of time we have to experience this life is vital. Helping others as a teacher, as an entrepreneur, a mentor, a leader, a cheerleader, as a forever student, and now as an inspiring author, is what makes me truly happy. I spent the bulk of my professional career helping others work toward achieving and exceeding their professional goals and ambitions. I have been blessed through all my many, many failures to have learned priceless lessons that have served to guide me. If it were not for all of those failures, I would have never been successful in my chosen career path.
As an author, I use that same business philosophy to propel my efforts as a student of the genre and profession. I hope to help others find the escape, the comfort, and the release that comes with an entertaining story. I have a head full of pet monsters just waiting to be released onto paper. Somehow it was destined that the darkest corners of the horror genre bring me happiness, I desire to share that passion with my readers. I am beyond excited about what the future holds. I know it may sound cliché but it’s so very true that your life is what you make of it and your attitude toward whatever it may be that this life throws at you is key. We are the author and all the characters of our own story. Only you, no one else, can determine or dictate your life’s plot. Your level of happiness and success throughout this novel we call life is yours to write.
The story I have chosen for my life is to do only those things that make me happy, helping others, no matter the venue, makes my very happy. I’ve decided that I’ll follow that plotline.
Happy Hauntings!”
~ Brian.