2008 Publication - My Brother the Hero

Publication is perhaps the highest qualification a writer can seek.  Academic degrees, military experience, and artistry with words pale in comparison to the words "I published a novel."  The closest I've come so far is a short, short story in the 8th Annual Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition (I came in tenth).

Ryan Edel on GoArmy.com in 2003

One of my strongest qualifications as a writer has nothing at all to do with words or publishing - I was in the Army.  In fact, my military experiences will probably help future book sales far more than my academic credentials.  And my experiences were nothing special - I joined, I served, and I didn't see much in the way of combat (thankfully - not everyone is this fortunate).  But if you'd like to see how I looked back then, watch these GoArmy.com videos of My Life as a U.S. Army Linguist.

Cleaning Out the Skeletons from My Online Profile

It's a fact - people check us out online. So imagine my horror today when I discovered that the "first hit" when I googled "Ryan Edel" was the neutered web page I haven't updated in over two years.