P. M. Grates

P.M. Grates was born on a crisp winter’s day in 1959 in the suburbs of Detroit. There was snow on the ground, and it was clear and cold. He was the 6th of eight children. The experience of having many siblings led to obtainment of important skills: defending oneself, obtaining food, managing drama, standing clear of things, and finding quiet places to be alone. The most important lesson, however, was the realization that if you want anything, or if you want to make something happen, you must do it yourself. No one was going to do it for you, and nothing good comes easy.

On another winter’s day in late March 1982, P.M. Grates got in his car and drove to California. He started a job that involved a lot of writing and giving presentations. He learned how to communicate ideas. What’s more, the job required a lot of travel around the nation. Soon, P.M. Grates had been in every state in the union, and almost every major city. He read a lot of books while riding on airplanes. He met a lot of people and asked them questions about their lives. He wanted to know how they cope, and how they adapt to their environment, and what they believe. Through all his travels, he learned that everyone had a story to tell, and that good storytelling is a powerful thing.

He began to use stories to communicate everything. He wrote his first non-fictional book in 1994 about socializing in California. In 1998, he researched and reported on modern Ventura County storm damage. In 2008 he completed his first fictional story about exceptionally driven people in the crazy early days of the microprocessors. His latest book is about coming of age in the modern world of ultra communication while making sense of a desire based culture that ironically touts itself as being spiritual and moral.

P.M. Grates currently lives comfortably with his wife and dog in Huntington Beach, California. He has no complaints, but if he did, no one would listen anyway.