Author Steven Lake
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About Me
I was born in Marshall, Michigan in 1972 to two wonderful parents who had absolutely no idea what they were getting into, or even how to handle a child like me. ;) I'm the kind of person who is very mechanically minded, but also very intelligent and one who sees the world in a very black and white way. Grays do not do well with me, which is ironic as I write books with lots of gray stuff in them. :P I grew up next to my Grandma Lake (we called her "Gran"), and a whole slew of crazy neighbors out in the country in the middle of good old farm country, which is in itself ironic given that both of my parents grew up as farmers. My dad ran a small truck farm for about the first 8-10 years of my life before finally giving up and closing it down. Oddly enough, we still have the old orchard that was there at my grandma's old house (now my dad's) that was there from when I was a kid. I even had a little toy tractor I used to ride around on back then. It was lots of fun. Through the years though I grew up as an "emotionally impaired child" (double speak for "he's too darned smart for us to handle!") through elementary until they sent me over to special ed. Oddly enough, the only thing that special ed did for me was to teach me how to take how I learned and make it work inside the existing system. A young teacher in my high school special ed class looked at me one day while watching how I studied and did my homework and figured out, "Wait, you learn and see the world mechanically? Well then, I have the solution for you!" After doing that, I was taken out of special ed and put into regular high school. Since I see the world mechanically, all I had to do was learn how to apply mechanical concepts to analytical problems, and boom, I started being able to perform well in high school, going from nearly failing out to coming out C average. That may not sound like much, but if you saw how I was doing before, that was an astounding change. My class grades went from D's and E's to A's and B's. And all it took was teaching me how to learn within the existing system since it wouldn't change or adjust itself to teach me in the way I learn. Anyhow, after high school I went into the Army as a cook, spent two years there, then got downsized in 1993 when they decided to gut out the military. I was supposed to be in for 3 years, but in order to save money on troops and college funds, they got rid of anyone they could before they got their mandatory two years that was required to qualify for the military scholarship program. Some might think that's unfair. Myself, I don't. It took me a while to realize it, but really my only purpose for being in the military was not that money. *I* went in for the money. God on the other hand sent me in there to get saved, teach me some maturity, and then send me home to work again. It's amazing what kind of positive motivator greed can be sometimes. ;) Anyhow, afterwards I went to culinary school for two years, got a degree, and then worked in the industry 7 years total (counting my college time as well) before I realized that I really didn't like culinary and I wasn't cut out for it. So I then switched my focus to information systems as tech was an area I was strong in, even before I went into culinary. I've been working in one segment or another of the infosys industry since then. I even spent 9 years as a developer. But when the rubber hit the road, writing and systems administration and support was where I felt most comfortable. And that's what I do now as my primary occupation. Now, as for my love and social life, hmm. I know some of you are going to ask me that question, so here's my statement on that. I'm over 40 years old, and still single as a shingle. Aside from a little dating in High School, I've been single all my life, safe for the occasional crazy cat. I guess that makes me a crazy cat guy. haha. In total I've written and published 19 books in a mixture of genres (Scifi, Christian, Fantasy, Survival, Adventure, Action, etc) and I have quite a few more coming along behind them as well. In fact, my pending folder has over 100 potential stories waiting to happen, so I've got plenty of material to work with for the future. :) I also like volunteering, giving to others, including those in need, those I work with, neighbors, friends, strangers, etc. I also make some pretty killer baked goods. Hey, even though I didn't stay a cook, I still use everything I learned from those days long ago. I'm also a strong lover of and advocate for Linux, Open Source, and a variety of technologies. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Get to know me and you'll find out a ton of other things more!! My Faith
That's why we say, religion is man's attempt to reach God, while Christianity is God's attempt to reach man. Religion is life bound by a strict set of rules, many of which are completely ritualistic and with no real meaning. It is also a way of faith that is polluted with evil and demonic forces. Christianity is a relationship with the creator God of the entire universe. Without God, nothing would exist, including you. God loved you before you were ever made. He knew you would fall, and be trapped by sin, and has given you a way out through the death and resurrection of His Son! I mean, how awesome is that? That's why everything I do, I always try to do to the Lord. That why my life is not about me ultimately. It's about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave His all so that I could be free of the bondage of sin and death, of eternity in Hell, and forever separation from Him. Without Him I am nothing. But with Him I am a vessel through which He works to bring peace and salvation to the world. He can also bring peace and salvation to your heart if you'll let Him. And the best part? This gift is completely free and yours for the taking! How is that possible, you ask? The answer is simple. Romans 3:23: for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. My Hobbies
So what are some of my hobbies? Well, writing is obviously one of them. But I have quite a few others that I like to dabble in as part of my relaxation. One of them is wood crafting. Now, I'm no master woodsmith by any stretch of the imagination. But I do like to build things out of wood from time to time. Some of them have even impressed me, and I'm really hyper critical of my own abilities. Yet the projects turned out pretty good, considering that I'm not a woodcrafter by trade or skill. I also like to go biking, which I haven't had much of a chance to do in a few years due to schedules and other things. I also like to go camping, hiking, nature walks and fishing, which again, is the same story. I love to do them, but rarely have the time anymore. :( Being an adult can suck like that. :P Now, the funny thing about fishing is I'm not a water guy. I don't like being out on the water, despite liking to fish. As such I will often fish from a dock rather than go out in a boat. I also like fixing and repairing stuff. Since moving to my new apartment I haven't had to do that much, which is an odd feeling as I had to do that a LOT at the last place I lived. Then again, it was falling apart, so that's not all that surprising. lol. The last apartment I lived in was the duck tape special. In fact, I had to repair things so often I have my own work bench and tools to keep things in working order. Now they just sit around and rust. Oh well, it beats the alternative. lol. I also enjoy Anime, cartoons and animations, although I'm very picky about which ones I watch as there's good content out there, but also a LOT of bad stuff too. Probably way more bad than good by far. I love most of the Ghibli films, a variety of anime series like Clannad and One Piece, movies like Leap, How to Train your Dragon, and others. And I have a few other hobbies I like to do, which are presently escaping my mind at the moment. But when I think of them I'll update this page accordingly. :) Contact Me
Email: me@earthfleet.net Well, that's all I can think of at the moment as far as means to contact me. What? Not enough? ;) :P If I think of anything more, or I add anything else, I'll post it here. If you want my phone number, well, get to know me first and then I'll consider handing that out. :) |
Hello, my name is Steven Lake, and as you can see by this site, I'm quite a colorful individual. I write to entertain others through captivating, gripping stories, as well as teach others about the love of Christ. I enjoy doing a variety of things including writing (obviously), building and repairing things, helping others and so much more. It makes life exciting and interesting to me every single day of the year. Even so, writing isn't a full time job for me. For now it's just a paid hobby, not that I wouldn't like to make it a full time job at some point. :)
The faith that I have in Jesus Christ is a very important and personal thing to me. Why? For many reasons really. To me, my faith is not about rules and regulations. It's about a relationship with the very creator of the universe. Christianity, as it's most commonly known, and sometimes also known as "The Way", is night and day different than religion in many ways. Religion is man's attempt to reach God, and as anyone knows, when man makes the rules, things go down the tubes. Religion is a series of man made laws that say "do this and God might consider saving you." We all know how that usually ends up.
Hobbies are a necessary part of life. They help us explore our world, to relax, to exercise our creativity, our skills, they keep us from going crazy, and so much more. They're an amazing outlet for so many things that we love to do, but can't constructively express in any other way. It's like what writing is for me. It's a way to express my inner thoughts, to escape from the world, to go places I couldn't otherwise go, to see things and know people I would have no other way meeting. People who read say the same things, and honestly such is true. Reading and writing brings us into a whole other world outside our own.
Thank you for wanting to contact me. There are actually several ways that you can contact me. Here's my list below: