Derek Atkins Profile

Derek Atkins is a life-long Californian with a panoply of background experiences and interests. Raised in a rodeo / team roping family which consumed his early childhood. Spent his pre-teen years working the catch-pen at his family's roping arena, constantly reading books between removing ropes from the head and feet of some wild Mexican Corriente steers. Between being charged, gored, rope-burned, and receiving a severely broken nose by the age of twelve, he consumed science fiction and fantasy books sometimes a line or two at a time as he waited for the next steer to enter the chute.

He has always been a fast and voracious reader, excelling in science and math. His love of science led him to pursue an education in chemistry at CSUF. He has started several businesses that keep him stretched for free time, but continues to write and read at a brisk pace. His reading consists of science / biology papers, intelligent design discussions, and fiction of all kinds.

Derek's short story "The Journal" won first place in a competition on TheNextBigWriter and it remained as one of the top short stories there until the site revamped in 2014. He is currently working on his novel "Mosquito", a thriller, a young adult novel "Landfall", and a children's story "Famm the Unwilling Fairy". Derek also writes poetry and enjoys many wonderful poets on this site.