My name is Steven Gomez, but in the great tradition of initialing I go by the pen name C.S. Gomez. I was born in 1986 in the Dominican Republic, but now make my home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
From a very early age I have been fascinated by stories, and have never been able to go very long without having a book available to read. From Beatrix Potter to A.A. Milne, my childhood was blessed with them. The gradual passing of the years brought new stories, including C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, but you never forget the ones that instilled the love of reading, and you never truly leave them behind. They all just collect and store up inside, and all find their places on the shelf. There’s room for anything and everything. This has naturally grown within me the dream to pursue a career as a teller of stories. I’d love to do nothing better than write fiction all the days of my life. It isn’t the most practical or pragmatic of ambitions, but it’s my own earthly version of Paradise. And who knows? I may achieve it one day.
Steven, are you familiar with the writings of Walter Wangerin Jr? Besides novels and pastoral counsel, he has written meditations for Advent and Lent, focusing on the characters involved.
Recently I’ve been reading Alexander McCAll Smith…the Edinburgh lawyer who wrote the Botswana stories of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I’m into The Scotland Street 44 series, which he wrote in serial form for the Scotsman newspaper.
He does light hearted stories, with interesting character development, focusing on the ordinary people, true to life in the cultures he is describing and depicting their strengths and foibles. Lots of humour.
You gave me a book of Wangerin’s writings a few years ago. Unfortunately it’s joined those volumes that have gone unread. Hopefully I will read it soon.