My dad once said to me, “If you want to be a good writer, read good writing, and write every day.” That’s what I have been doing since I learned to read at 3. I received my first book (“Profiles in Courage”) as a child. When the weather was too inclement for my mom to shoo me and my five siblings outside so she could regain some sanity, I would spend hours in my bedroom reading history. I read everything I could get my hands on from the River Park Library (in South Bend) or the Bookmobile.

My passion for books is almost a sickness. LOL. I have more than 1,500 hardcover history books and set aside two to three hours each night to read more history books. I don’t have anything against novels, but non-fiction is so interesting and has the added benefit of being mostly true.

Favorite writers? In addition to my list of Irish writers, I must include Winston Churchill, William Shirer, Frederick Douglass, Joshua Chamberlain, David Grann, Rick Atkinson, Erik Larson, William T. Sherman, U.S. Grant, Shelby Foote, Barbara Tuchman, Neil Sheehan, David Halberstam and Doris Kearns Goodwin, among others. And that is just a sampling of 19th and 20th century authors.

I bring the lessons of great writers, and of history, to your cause, your principles, your brand. Reading good writing has taught me how to tell a story and how to write clearly, so the average person can understand me. A bunch of facts signify nothing if they are not provided with context, in a cogent manner, to resonate with the reader.

I also write every day. In addition to writing for my clients, I am an historian of modest accomplishment. And as a former politician, I am opinionated as heck. Rather than force you to read any of my writing here, I offer up a selection of my writing for you to peruse, when you can’t sleep some night: