I spent 15 years working as a programmer and consultant in several industries, developing database apps and web services, using VB, C#, C++, .NET Framework, SQL Server, SQL Anywhere, MySQL, Oracle, and all the usual tools, libraries, and methodologies that I won’t list here ad nauseum.
I began writing in 2001. My first book was Pocket PC Game Programming. An acquisition editor contacted me via a Pocket PC discussion group and asked me if I’d like to write a book about it. That publisher was called Prima-Tech (known for popular game guides), which evolved over the years into Cengage Learning. This publisher, along with Sams, published twenty of my books and several went into multiple revisions due to very good sales. My last two programming books were done in 2014.
In 2005, I was recruited to teach game programming at University of Advancing Technology (uat.edu), which turned into a five-year gig. While there I put together a team and created Starflight: The Lost Colony, which was completed in 2010 and is now open-source (search GitHub) with a good fan base.
As of 2015, I have been writing fiction and spending more time outside with a job that gives me exercise and I don’t do programming work any more. My first work of fiction is called The Mandate of Earth and the sequel is The Legacy of Earth. I have about 120 short stories and several more novels to write in the coming years.