I’m John C. Colyer, born March 14th 1957 in Somerset, Kentucky. At age seven I read my first poem and I was hooked. I began writing at age twelve with a dream of becoming a published author. In 1968 the family moved from Somerset, Ky. to Cincinnati, Ohio. Taken from the quiet country setting of farms and woodlands, then seemingly dropped in the middle of a concrete jungle of the city was a drastic change for me. Though I adapted and spent a large portion of life there, I never did like the hustle of city life.
I was about six years old when the U.S entered the Vietnam War, I grew up watching the young men turn eighteen and get shipped off overseas. I grew up witnessing the racial tension and Vietnam protest of the sixties and seventies.
I was quickly approaching the age of eighteen and I knew I was headed for Vietnam. By the grace of God, I missed it by a couple years. They stopped the draft by the time I turned seventeen; however, at age eighteen I enlisted in the military and served the next twelve years.
My dream of becoming a published author somehow got pushed aside as I stepped into adulthood, serving in the military, working and raising a family took priority over a dream.
Though my dream of being a published author seemed to be no more than a fantasy, my love of poetry and writing continued. I have always enjoyed writing, it also became, what I call, my released valve. During the hard times of my life or a state of depression, I turned to the God given talent of writing poetry.
Over the years I accumulated a collection of poems, I call them stories in thyme. Some good, some not so good, but all are a part of me. From my early writings, I write from the heart.
I was seven years old when I read a little poem by Alfred Joyce Kilmer, titled ‘Trees’ that simple little poem was my inspiration . . . I don’t really know how many poems I have written over the years, though I managed to save most of them, many have been lost through the years.
Fifty plus years and I have never lost my passion for poetry or writing, I suppose that is something I’ll have till I take my last breath. Though my dream of being a published author got set on the back burner many times, I never let go of it.
In 2013 I had two poetry books published through Gibson-Ragle Publishing Co.; ‘A Gun and the Cross’ and ‘Then the Darkness Comes’. Since then, I’ve had four other poetry books and two novels published from my “The War is Over,” series.
As I was inspired by a simple poem, it is my hope that I can inspire a young mind to write; to have a dream and see it through, no matter what; because dreams can come true. Like all authors, I like knowing that my work has been read and enjoyed by the readers; knowing that I have in some way touched their emotions.
However, I personally feel that my greatest reward, my greatest accomplishment would be, to know that I have inspired a young mind to write. May their dream come true quicker and easier than mine did.