Upon leaving the 49ers, I felt a powerful need to go back to the drawing board and completely remodel my life. The story of Lands End was written while I was going through a five-year Dark Night of the Soul, transitioning from an illustrious career working in a dream fantasy job as the team photographer for the San Francisco 49ers — back to the “real world.”

The song “Wake Me Up” by Avicii became my soundtrack.

For years, I had read the books of Dr. Carol Adrienne, a noted life coach and the acclaimed author of The Purpose of Your Life and The Celestine Prophecy: An Experiential Guide. She is an expert in the field of synchronicity, serendipity and intuitive thought.

One night I Googled her and was surprised to learn she lived close-by and did individual coaching work. We worked together and she urged me to pursue writing. Through Carol’s mentoring, I realized that by exploring shadows and the roads not taken I could find an answer to the question, “What If?”

Mindful of my intuitive thoughts and through the amazing power of synchronicity and serendipity, the design and structure of the story slowly began to appear. The people I needed to help me tell this story all miraculously appeared right at the moment I most needed them!

My ambition was to tell a story about a Baby Boom Generation cop who, similar to what I was experiencing in my own life, is compelled to ask the basic questions of who I am, what I want, why I am here and where I am going.

Writing Lands End has given me what I most wanted — the experience looking deep within myself and writing an entertaining novel that gives readers pause for mindfulness . . . paying attention like your life depends on it.