A retired principal, superintendent, and director of education in three school districts, I graduated from York University and the Ryerson School of Journalism.

I am a multiple award-winning author of fourteen novels and ten anthologies of whimsical tales, originally printed by Lulu Press, all of which are shown in the My Books section in the menu at the top of this page.  They may also be found in both paperback and e-book formats on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and most online retailers. 

A free preview of the books, and details regarding purchase, may be found at this safe site—

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/precept

One of my novels, The Lonely, Silvery Rain, has just been released by Otter & Osprey Press, an imprint of Northern Forest Publishing.

You may also find my musings on Bluesky @talebender.bksy.social

Until recently, I sang in the bass section of two a cappella barbershop choruses, Harbourtown Sound in Ontario and Suncoast Statesmen in Florida.  Here is a familiar song from a competition performance—

I live with my wife in Ontario and Florida, where I’m working on a fifteenth novel (working title: Not In My Backyard) and a collection of haiku poetry, as yet untitled.