John Bouley
Born and raised in Marlborough Massachusetts I am the youngest of four children. My sister being the oldest and then two brothers. I was a quiet child and observed my older siblings quite often. Though I was influenced by my sister and older brothers I really loved making friends. However, striking up conversation was not one of my strong points as a child which led me to develop one heck of an imagination. I would create stories in my head just to entertain myself and I enjoyed fantasizing that my life was somewhat of a stage with my friends as actors. As I got older I started to open up more and made a lot of new friends, you can say I became the quintessential people person. Eventually I got into physical fitness as it became one of the best stress relieving remedies along with writing short stories. I was also an avid motorcycle enthusiast and would travel in groups from Boston Massachusetts to Myrtle Beach South Carolina on my Harley for bike week. I would eventually move down here to Charleston, South Carolina and continue to share my stories about the adventures of motorcycling and living in the Northeast battling cold and snowy Winters. I’m a person that loves adventure and still to this day I believe in sharing my experiences on paper or in person. Though I’m older now I still believe in living life to the fullest and continue to look for new adventures to help my creativity as a writer. I enjoyed going out for a drink or two on the weekends developing a good social rapport with some amazing people at a restaurant named the Noisy Oyster in Charleston South Carolina. I enjoyed the camaraderie in the lounge with the bartenders and patrons and of course sharing my stories and poetry became the norm. Eventually the place went out of business but I gained a lot of friends I call family and regularly invite them to the house on the weekends for food and beverage. Talking about the good times and sharing in the lives of others is therapy to me. I continue to write about all of the experiences that influenced my life and still believe in the greater good in people! If I can bring some of that good out one sentence at a time on paper then I have accomplished something of great value! I’m a person that believes we all have a purpose in this world and if I can leave behind a part of my legacy for an ever-changing world to read then I have lived a full and satisfying life.
What inspired me to write
I began writing poetry and short stories in my early teens. I guess I always believed that life is like a theatrical play without any Scripts. I remember going on a camping trip with my parents when I was about 13 years of age. I met and befriended a person of the same age and it just happened to be we shared a lot of the same interests. I couldn’t wait to get home to write about my two-day camping trip and included my friend Tom as one of the main characters in my imaginary movie. I wrote the scripts and rehearsed it in my mind. It kind of had a PG-13 rating and when I was finished writing it I stashed my notebook under my pillow. Long story short my mother found it and was very impressed with the story but was a little upset with some of the the language.Lol, not that it was that bad but you know boys will be boys! As I grew older and got a girlfriend I started writing poetry for her, eventually I got married and I continued to write poetry for my young wife. One of the poems is included in my book The Changing Tides titled If I should stumble. As time went on and the difficulties of life started to set in, I used my writing as an outlet to help me deal with the issues that seemed to have consumed me at that time. I started sharing it with friends and relatives that inspired me to continue writing. But the reality of life got in the way of my dreams and I started driving a semi truck for a living. My writing went on the back burner for some years until a friend discovered a notebook full of my poetry and short stories. She eventually convinced me to self-publish my stories in a book for the world to see, and though hesitant I would eventually put together The changing tides. I believe we all have a story to tell and by expressing ourselves on paper is one of the greatest literary gifts that the human race possesses! This is how we learn and grow by self examination and expression that brings out the true characters in all of us. I look forward to releasing my next book titled A Day in the Life which reflects on the everyday occurrences with subject matters concerning mental and physical health. I really enjoy talking with people and examining their personalities along with listening intensely to the drama and pleasures of their life. I’ve written poetry and short stories based on that information provided and in turn it eventually became the impetus to creating more of my stories. I believe the wonderful people that come into my life are the dynamics of a great story and in turn propels and motivates me to continue writing great literature.
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