Bryan W. Alaspa is a freelance writer living in Chicago. While this would seem like enough to describe him, it does not exactly convey the passion with which he has written. Ever since he first sat down at his mother's electric typewriter in the third grade and typed out his first short story, writing has been the one thing Bryan knew he not only wanted to do, but had to do.

Bryan has occasionally ventured off the written path to explore various avenues such as radio broadcasting and journalism. He currently finds himself stuck in the daily tar-pit known as "human resources".

Most recently, Bryan has put aside his detours and distractions and once again focuses on the one thing that has been his passion all along: writing. Bryan's first novel was the science fiction epic, The Ballad of the Blue Denim Gang. This was followed very closely by the murder mystery novel, The Vanished Child. Bryan is a big believer in self-publishing and in writers being able to make their voices heard, especially when they do not fit neatly into one genre or another.

In 2004, Bryan wrote two novels in quick succession. Dust and Rig were both written over the course of about six months in 2004. Both have been available as eBooks only since then. In 2006, Dust was finally made available in a print version.

2006 also marks Bryan's return to writing in earnest. He now writes humor and opinion columns for a website entitled "The Church of Cynicism" as well as other weblogs. Continuing to do things his way, Bryan considers himself 'self-syndicated.' Bryan also has written restaurant reviews for online and print publication as well as sports articles. He has also branched out and written marketing materials for various clients as well as website content.

2007 looks to be a busy year for Bryan. He plans to continue to expand his writing talents. Bryan will also release Rig in print form sometime in the spring of 2007. Finally, Bryan is venturing for the first time into full-length, non-fiction in the form of a book about the haunted Lemp Mansion in St. Louis for Schiffer Publishing. That book should also be available in 2007.

Bryan hopes to eventually write full-time and climb out of human resources. He has other projects in the works such as screenplays, comic books and teleplays. He still hopes to someday write the definitive novel about Chicago.

You can visit Bryan's website at *www.bryanalaspa.com*. And coming soon: an interview with Bryan himself!