My older sister tells me when I was born our father announced to my brother and she, “You have a new baby brother, and his name is Andy.” That’s my nickname. Officially, my name is Andrew, “for long.”

When I was still in single digits I liked to play with my parents’ typewriter, fascinated even then by the published word. On a visit to my cousins’ house I watched in awe as my aunt typed a document without looking at the keys. I decided I wanted to be able to do that, so I took a typing course my senior year in high school. Though my best was only 36 words per minute, I had become a touch typist.

I wrote game summaries about the St. Francis College (now University of New England) hockey team, then transferred to the University of Hartford, joined the staff of its student newspaper, and eventually became the editor.

I have written for a few newspapers since, but most of my career has been spent writing advertising copy: mainly direct-mail brochures, packages, and catalogs, some print ads, and more recently internet marketing. Throughout, I have been involved in the design and production of these pieces as well.

I am still fascinated by the published word, especially when it elicits the desired response from the reader, preferably for the good.