G.J. Winters “fell into” writing when a well-meaning teacher of his submitted his Creative Writing assignment for publication in the school paper. The local paper picked up the article and asked G....view moreG.J. Winters “fell into” writing when a well-meaning teacher of his submitted his Creative Writing assignment for publication in the school paper. The local paper picked up the article and asked G.J. for publishing rights, to which the young G.J. agreed with some hesitation, as he felt “that wasn’t one of my best writings at the time.” The reality was that this article was written when G.J. was a junior in high school.The article, which was a fictionalized version of a local myth surrounding a famous abandoned house near a swamp, was an assignment turned in as part of a mid-term exam. The teacher, Miss Mendez, thought G.J.’s writing was “exemplary” and showed “natural, raw writing talent for a person his age." The assignment called for “providing details to a local urban myth – provide background, using a local resident’s POV, and close with a vague hint of authenticity and realism."The story, entitled “The Old Mansion by the Swamp,” appeared in the high school paper as a short story, but was later serialized in the local paper in 6 parts. G.J. added more characters and even a sub-story (which later became a story of its own, “I Was Shirley Massey” – a story which centered on a member of the fictional family who resided in the Massey Mansion in the late 70s and disappeared without a trace).With the success of both of his original series, G.J. thought to venture into writing longer stories, this time with futuristic themes, as he has always been fascinated with travelling through time, future crimes, apocalyptic themes, and stories set in civilizations from the future.G.J. identifies with sci-fi writers such as Isaac Asimov (“Kept me awake through most evenings in college.”) and Margaret Peterson Haddix (“My girlfriend at the time had fits of jealousy over my fanatical tendencies towards this author.”).G.J. holds a degree in Chemistry, is an intern at the R&D division of a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, and lives with girlfriend Deidre, a magazine editor.view less