Walking the thin line between the absurd and the sublime.
My life began in 1974 on an organic strawberry farm run by pacifist liberal Mennonite hippies, surrounded by Republican cornfields in central Illinois. I ate more strawberries by the time I was ten than most people eat in a lifetime. Strawberries aren’t even my favorite fruit. I sure don’t miss weeding.
1980’s. At school we were taught to read and do math. We were told that by 2025 or so the world would be out of gasoline. We did nuke drills: 1) Go to the hallway. 2) Cover your head with your hands. 3) Melt like the Nazis at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Everything I needed to know I learned in kindergarten, right?
It was not my fate to stay in central Illinois worrying about the Russians attacking. The longest I’ve lived outside the USA is 14 months, back in 1987-88. Just a wee little farm urchin in cutoff jeans and ratty tee shirts. We went to France, then spent a year in (what was then called) Zaire. It turned my world upside down.
In the 1990’s I graduated high school, went to college and studied religion, spent a semester in Cote d’Ivoire. Met my wife. Started working. Feared Y2K a little. Went to the hall. Covered my head. Didn’t melt.
I spent most of the Aughts delivering furniture from a box truck in Manhattan, Boston, Long Island, D.C., and everywhere in between. And making babies. My wife had four kids between ’03 and ’10. I snuck in a trip to Senegal in ’05. I dabbled in stone sculpture.
The 2010s were a real mess. I struggled to recover from the “recession” of 2008 because I decided to go work for myself, which is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, resulting in a lot more failures than successes. You learn a lot from that. Meanwhile, I started publishing my work. I’ve traveled more than ever, adding Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Thailand (four times), and Egypt to my list. I published six books between 2012 and 2018. Moved the family to Egypt for eight months. Came back during the worst part of the pandemic panic. Published six more books by the end of 2021.
My travel experiences are the most important factor in what makes me the author I am today. My total is 22 nations and territories. Newest on the list are Portugal (in 2021) and Ireland (in 2023). When you read any of my books, even the nonfiction ones, you’ll see that. And humor.
I keep writing.
In November of 2021, I hiked the Camino from Porto, Portugal, to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. A lot of stuff happened. Old Roads. New Friends. And an increased commitment to my writing career, even as I chose other aspects of my gig economy work to decrease. Now I’m writing my own works, but also ghostwriting and available for audiobook reading.
I’m a happy person. I don’t want a whole lot more out of life. It’s better to have a great relationship with your spouse and children than to be rich or famous. I mean, if you only get to pick one.
I have a lot of drive. I want to keep publishing stuff you’ll enjoy. So check it out. Shoot me an email at agf@adamgfleming or say hi on Instagram.com/adam_g_fleming and for God’s sake I beg of you on my knees if you’ve read something you like go review it on Amazon, tell a friend, buy people copies for Christmas or Hanukkah or National Read an Indie Author’s Book Day. I thrive on your feedback, and my sales thrive on your kind words shared with others!
As of January, 2023, I became the CEO of Victory Vision Publishing. If you need help with writing, editing, publishing or marketing, we’re here for you.
Adam G. Fleming 