John Kolesa

I've traveled a lot - 25 countries on 4 continents, 35 U.S. states and lived in 8 of them plus the DC area (Arlington). I was married for 15 years. I've had several careers. Attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and sailed in support of the first Persian Gulf War as an engineering cadet. I've been to Africa, India, all over Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Canada. I have undergrad work and two undergrad degrees in science/engineering as well as pre-law (history) with a minor in creative writing from FIU. I have an MBA in Global Business Management. I've reported as a journalist for Streetwise Chicago magazine and written several fantasy stories, one of which made the Amazon bestseller list for several weeks in the fantasy and romance short story categories. I'm currently working on a novel called "Last Knight of the Templars" and just recently completed a children's picture book fable called "The Little Shoemaker's Silver" that I am currently submitting to literary agents for representation. I also finished a sitcom pilot called "Crisis Management" and just submitted that to script pipeline earliuer this year (2019).

I report under my real name, write fiction under the name Ben Wolfe and have started screenwriting under the name Anton Skolezar. I chose to use pseudonyms for fictional writing because I don't want to associate it with my non-fictional writing.

The careers I had were in manufacturing and distribution logistics (10 years); process and financial auditing (12 years); marketing and sales management (12 years) and now I have started writing and teaching English (2 years).

You can find me on social media at:

https://www.facebook.com/john.kolesa
https://www.facebook.com/John.Wolfe37
https://www.facebook.com/AntonSkolezarAvtor
Founder and Admin of Writers Without Borders on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/writerswb/

https://www.facebook.com/benwolfe.author/
https://www.facebook.com/World-of-the-Lianshae-110958323631310/?modal=admin_todo_tour
https://www.facebook.com/TalesoftheLianshi/?modal=admin_todo_tour
https://www.facebook.com/WraithRidersTrilogy/?modal=admin_todo_tour

https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Lianshi-Tales-Book-ebook/dp/B07MCYXBF8/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1546683207&sr=8-1&keywords=Curse+of+the+lianshi

https://twitter.com/Wolfe_Ben
https://www.instagram.com/thewriter_benwolfe/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-kolesa-writing-as-ben-wolfe-52105810/
https://www.pinterest.com/johnwolfe37/
https://allauthor.com/author/benwolfe/books
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19149221.Ben_Wolfe

Known for the 1964 Plymouth Barracuda I drove; Chess Club; Martial Arts and Computers when they were still something new back in the pre-internet era when dinosaurs still roamed the earth.

I never thought myself popular in high school and honestly, I spent the better part of 30 years trying to forget my grade school and high school years. I had a huge chip on my shoulder and just about dared anyone to knock it off. I wanted to play sports but wasn't really built for it. I went into the service after a two-year degree through a U.S. Federal Service Academy...and suffered a sports-related injury that haunted me until I had a spinal fusion in the cervical vertebrae back in 2011. St. Thomas missed a golden opportunity as I could run a 4-minute 32-second mile when I was 15. I can still run a 5K at 52 in a little over a half hour though I feel like I'm dying when I'm done.

Some of my best friends I've had in my life attended STA with me. Even those who were my arch nemeses back then (yes, there were more than one of you...) turned out not to be so bad. If it is one thing that STA played a part in that I would like to thank them for (in part), it was my faith. It is one of the few things in my life that has never failed me. I was lucky to have great parents though I didn't always give them the credit they deserved. Good friends that likewise did not get the credit they deserved for keeping me out of trouble, keeping me alive and helping me through the lowest points in my life.
John, Marc, Mike...you guys know who you are...thanks.