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Billy Wade
Billy R. Wade, Jr. has been all too happy to add fiction writing to his list of life accomplishments. Born in Roanoke, Virginia, he spent his teen years and much of his adult life in the Tampa Bay ...view moreBilly R. Wade, Jr. has been all too happy to add fiction writing to his list of life accomplishments. Born in Roanoke, Virginia, he spent his teen years and much of his adult life in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. While in Tampa, Bill worked in retail management before switching to a career as a computer systems analyst for the local school system. He changed careers again after nearly 20 years of working with mainframe computers and started a manufacturing company. After this last change, he made his self-proclaimed escape to the mountains of West Virginia shortly after the turn of the century. After enlisting in the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1969, he was called to active duty and graduated top of his class from both basic training at Naval Training Center (NTC) Orlando, Florida and Yeoman 'A' School at NTC Bainbridge, Maryland. Soon after, he was assigned to the Naval Investigative Service Office in Norfolk, Virginia for nearly two years. While there on active duty, he earned the Navy's Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon with ribbon device 'S' after qualifying as a Sharpshooter with the standard sidearm at that time: the 1911 .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol. Eventually, Bill left active service as a Petty Officer Third Class, though he wasn't quite ready to hang up his Navy uniform just yet. He spent three additional years as a weekend reservist at his local Navy Reserve Center assisting with the clerical demands of the center, a Seabee unit, and a training course development unit. And, despite his busy schedule during and after his naval career, Bill also dedicated his time to obtaining degrees in Business Management and Computer Science. He also took his business training a step further and studied marketing at the University of South Florida. Happily, all of Bill's business, educational and military pursuits have proved quite inspiring and provide him with plenty of writing material. He has written several technical "how-to" articles that were published in hobby magazines, and he is nearly finished with the next adventure for his Fair Winds NIS novel protagonist, Marcus Colt. Bill also attributes his new love of fiction writing to surviving brain surgery a few years ago. As he phrases it, some of the connections in his brain have found "new and definitely different pathways." In addition to writing, Bill owns and operates a hobby kit manufacturing business on his property in rural West Virginia. He also devotes time to fostering rescue animals with special needs from his local volunteer animal shelter. When not working, writing, cutting firewood, or shoveling snow, he spends his little bit of remaining free time staying proficient with his Colt 1911 .45 pistol.view less