Armed with the knowledge that his second grade teacher always liked his stories and poems, Ray Blackston of Greenville, South Carolina, departed the field of finance. He simply walked away from the corporate cubicle, bought a laptop, said a prayer, and began typing the first words of Flabbergasted. He does not recommend this method for the faint of heart.
He serves on the missions committee of his church, has traveled to rural Ecuador on a summer missions program, and coaches his seven-year-old nephew, Action Jackson, in T-Ball.