Steven A. Guglich

As a child, the world was an uncomfortable place for Steven A. Guglich. It was like wearing an itchy sweater he just couldn’t take off. That was until the world only became a temporary stopover between realms. While other children played and pretended to be superheroes and characters from Star Wars, Steven created his own characters journeying through that world. When Batman and Spider-Man came to save the day, Captain Justice assisted them. When his friends were Luke and Han, Steven was a Jedi Knight named Orion. At 8 years old Steven was introduced to a game called Dungeons & Dragons. This opened up another realm of adventure for him to visit new worlds. Steven’s Dad, Stanley, played a key role in the depth of his imagination. His Dad often told him fantastic stories and designed elaborate games for Steven and his friends. Some of the stories Stanley told involved him meeting and helping Santa Claus when he was in the army. One story was so elaborate that Steven continued to believe in Santa Claus until he was in 6th grade. Imagine being the only student in your class who still believed in Santa Claus! Writing about the fantastic lands he and his Dad visited had always been a dream. In his freshman year at George Washington High School, Steven applied to be a staff member of his high school newspaper, The Cherry Tree. Steven was made an art assistant until one fateful day the Art Editor/Reporter was sick. The newspaper’s Faculty Advisor, Joann Hauptman, asked for someone else to volunteer to cover and write a story for a student art exhibit. No one else did. Steven was hesitant, but volunteered anyway. His Faculty Advisor liked the story so much, that she asked him to write more. When the Art Editor failed to meet deadlines, they made Steven the Art Editor for the school newspaper. In his sophomore year he was promoted to Editor in Chief of The Cherry Tree; a position he held for three years. He credits his Faculty Advisor, Mrs. Hauptman, for giving him wings and bringing out his talent for writing. Strangely enough, Steven was not much of a reader prior to his freshman year. It was not until he visited the world of Xanth, with Piers Anthony as his tour guide, that his eyes were opened to the possibilities of longer visits to new worlds. Mrs. Hauptman gave him wings, and Mr. Anthony unlocked another door for Steven to journey to new lands. It was inevitable that he too would become a world builder and tour guide to new realms with roads paved of prose. However, along the way there were signs, guideposts, hills and valleys that Steven encountered that lead him in other directions. He pursued a degree in Film & Television production, then Elementary Education, and finally a master’s degree in Educational Leadership. Steven also dabbled in culinary arts school for a bit where he learned to make a delicious Chicken Velouté! In between pursuing higher education, teaching, and school administration, Steven wrote short stories, plays, teleplays, and film scripts; many of which were co-authored by one of his best friends, Alex Marquez. But it was not until he met the love of his life that his dream of being a writer would become more of a reality. Karen was all any man could ever ask for. She was smart, funny, and beautiful. During their courtship, Steven made it a priority to write Karen an encouraging email before he went to bed so that she would see it each morning before she left for work. These emails contained scripture from the Bible and a few encouraging paragraphs to inspire Karen to seize the day. These emails came to be known as Daily W.O.E.s – Words of Encouragement. Karen loved to get up each morning and read her W.O.E. from Steven. After a two-year courtship, Steve and Karen were married on May 17th, 2008. As a wedding gift, Karen gave Steven a beautifully wrapped present in red paper with a white bow. When he opened it, he was surprised to see a printed book titled WOE: Words of Encouragement by Steven A. Guglich. Karen had saved every W.O.E. Steven had written and had them bound in a book. That night she encouraged him to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. Every now and then, Steven and Karen still pull the book of W.O.E.s off the shelf and read them together. Four kids later and a move from New Jersey to North Dakota, Steven has been working hard on his first series, The Veil Saga. In 2020 Steven was named Principal of the Year for North Dakota and inducted into the prestigious alum of the Nationally Distinguished Principals. Karen still encourages him to write every day. For more information on Steven’s books, please visit www.stevenguglich.com

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