User:EdwardHancockII

Edward Hancock II (b. March 4, 1974 in Joliet, IL) is best known as the author and creator of the Mendez Series, a growing number of books that follow the adventures of fictional police detectives, Alex Mendez and his wife, Lisa Mendez. (nee Warner)

Early Life
The younger of two children, Edward Hancock II was born March 4, 1974 in Joliet, IL. Born in the Catholic-affiliated St. Joseph's Hospital to a Methodist father and Church of Christ mother, Edward would need the prayers of all of these faiths if he were to survive being born with Spina Bifida. Early on, the doctors said he had almost no chance of surviving, and if he did, he would have brain severe brain damage. He underwent several surgeries in the hours and days after his birth. The doctors almost gave up hope. But for the prayers of one couple in Ore City, Texas, they very well might have given up and Edward might have died.

"We've got a son, Mama" Edward's father had told his mother-in-law, as he was making the rounds on the telephone to announce the tiny baby's birth.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"They don't expect him to live." The weight of the words seemed to crush the 6'5, 300 lb former highschool athlete whose wife had just given birth.

"Now you listen to me," his mother-in-law's words were filled with indomitable strength. "You go back in there and you tell that doctor God has a plan for that boy."

That's the story Edward often tells of his birth. True or not, no one really knows. One thing is for certain. The doctors had all but given up. And anyone alive during that trying time attests to the fact that his maternal grandparents had no problem moving mountains with the smallest of prayers. Rumor has it, the story was told to him by his grandmother herself. The doctors said he'd never walk, never speak, never do anything for himself even if he managed to live past his second birthday. His grandmother said, "watch him!"

Edward's parents were determined to give him as normal a life as possible. In 1976, the family (which included his older sister) moved back to Texas, where both of his parents had been born and raised. They settled in White Oak, Texas for a couple of years before rmoving to a tract of family land just off Interstate 20 in Kilgore.

A dreamer right from the start, Edward was reading and writing on a kindergarten level by the age of three. By fourth grade, he was at eighth grade level. By sixth grade, he was reading, writing and understanding college-level material. The dreamer was on his way.

Alex Mendez is born
Edward started college in the summer of 1992, following his graduation from high school. A poor student by his own admission, Edward loafed around Kilgore Junior College for several years, changing his major at least seven times before settling on one of his life passions, History. It was during his time at Kilgore when his greatest contribution to the literary world was born.

It was during the fall semester of 1997. Edward had just completed work as Editor-In-Chief of the Kilgore College Ranger yearbook. Disallusioned with his current classload and the lack of time to do any creative writing, completely dissatisfied with his choice in major, Edward felt lost.

One day, while sitting in the library pondering his future, Edward had a visitor. This visitor, unlike many others, did not come to him in the flesh, but in the mind of a creative soul, seeking his true north.

"Hi, I'm Alex Mendez. And I need you to tell my story."

Today
As of 2014, you'll find Edward in Gilmer, Texas. After graduating from Kilgore College in 1997, Edward got married, moved to Oklahoma City, got divorced in 2001 and moved back to Texas, where he has lived since. His first Alex Mendez book was self-published in 2000 and has since gone out of print, as has the follow-up published in 2006. Edward plans to repacked, re-edit and republish both stories either late in 2014 or in 2015.

Edward is currently single and writes from his couch every day, usually surrounded by any and all of his four-legged children.

Mourning Reign (Published in 2010 by Buoy Up Press)

 * ISBN-10: 0937660612
 * ISBN-13: 978-0937660614

Heart Beatings (Published 2014 by Buoy Up Press)

 * ASIN: B00IKUCY3I

Connection Terminated (Published 2013)

 * ISBN-10: 149361844X
 * ISBN-13: 978-1493618446

Trivia

 * Edward has an older sister. She is three and a half years older.
 * The doctors did believe Edward would never walk. Though he didn't walk well until he was almost five, Edward did, in fact, enjoy many years of walking. An accident in early 2001 put an end to his walking when he cracked his L4 and L5 vertebraes in a bad fall on his ice-covered driveway.
 * Edward's first divorce was final 11 days after the September 11th attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged much of the Pentagon.
 * Edward scored a perfect score on the military ASVAB test in high school. He scored so high in fact that every branch of the service called and attempted to recruit him for years afterwards.
 * Edward has openly expressed his affinity for the Marine Corps and has stated many times that, were he not disabled, he would have likely joined the Marine Corps.
 * During his time as Assistant Editor and Editor of the Ranger Yearbook, Edward won more than 20 awards from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.
 * Edward reportedly has what he calls an "aversion" to odd numbers. He has stated that he will eat french fries in even numbers and does not like it when there is an odd number in the end.
 * Superstitious in many ways, Edward has also stated he can not eat M&M's without, at least once, eating one "hand full" that contains exactly one M&M of each color in the bag. He says it is a "good luck thing."
 * A devout Christian, Edward has reportedly read his bible 5 times, but says that he dreams of reading it 15 times as his grandmother did.
 * The author that inspires Edward the most is Dean Koontz.
 * His favorite color is red.
 * Edward got his first wheelchair in 7th grade, after his body began to grow to the point his muscles could no longer keep up.
 * Every wheelchair Edward has ever owned has been red.
 * Edward is afraid of flying, heights, needles, knives, deep water (over his head), rodents of any kind, spiders and snakes.
 * His favorite animal at the zoo is the Gorilla and Chimpanzee.
 * Edward has never drank Alcohol.
 * A self-described "Living Peter Pan" and lover of cartoons and comic books, Edward attended his first ever "Comic Con" in 2014, one month before his 40th birthday