I am a retired United States Army Staff Sergeant and a historian with a lifelong passion for storytelling. My path has taken me from the flight line, where I served as a Blackhawk Mechanic and Crew Chief, to the academic world, where I have earned a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Security, and Master's degrees in Information Technology, and Teaching. I am currently pursuing my Master of Arts in History, channeling a lifetime of experience into uncovering the past and building new worlds.

My writing spans multiple genres, grounded in both rigorous research and expansive imagination. My primary focus is on history monographs and historiographies, such as Synthetic Hell: How Napalm Ignited a Century of Dirty Wars. I also explore the boundaries of fiction and am the author of a science fiction series, The Nexus Saga: The Starfire Chronicles, Book 1 of the series should be released early 2027.

However, my drive to write stems fundamentally from my lifelong identity as a reader. For me, when I am reading a book, the author has set the stage, created a universe, and formed a destination that I did not know existed. As I read, an entire new world opens up to me: different settings, people, emotions, struggles, and hope. Although the author puts the building blocks into place, it is my mind that gives them shape and substance. I see the world the author has created as vividly in my mind as I see the real world with my eyes. To me, a book is not simply words on a page, but a portal to a reality or dimension yet unseen.

The best part of a book is that, as a reader, I can go back and visit old friends, see the locations again, and go through the same emotional struggles with them once more. A book is not simply a thing that collects dust; it is the hope for another world that we, as readers, did not know we were seeking. For me, the authors that have succeeded the most in this endeavor include J.R.R. Tolkien, Louis L'Amour, Tom Clancy, Terry Schott, Orson Scott Card, Vince Flynn, Jack Carr, and many more. Expand your boundaries in reading and you may be surprised by the universes you visit.

I write under the pen name B.R. Spencer. When I am not writing, reading, or researching, I am a single father to three high schoolers, living in the Springfield, Missouri area.