Author Ara 13 will discuss his novel "Drawers & Booths"

With more than 15 years experience as a writer - a military journalist, civilian news correspondent, columnist and now international awardwinning novelist, Ara 13 has emerged as one of the publishing industry's "Indie Sensations." In addition to his unusual last name, 13 is garnering attention on the literary scene for his signature metafiction writing style, recently showcased in his international award-winning book, Drawers & Booths. The son of professional photographer parents, 13 was born into the arts in 1971 in Newton, N.J. He spent his childhood in Hackettstown and attended private high school outside Princeton before joining the United States Marine Corps as a combat correspondent. During his military career, 13 developed a strong passion for the written word, his skills honed by the U.S. Department of Information Services where he was trained as a journalist for print, radio and television. For his work in the military, 13 received medals from the Navy, Air Force, Army and Marines. From 1992 to 1996, 13 served as a combat correspondent for the Marine Corps, covering Air Squad deployments to the war in Bosnia as well as Marine presence during civil unrest in Haiti. Later, as a special operations soldier for the Army, 13 covered civil affairs actions occurring in the Mideast and Africa. Between military stints, 13 co-created a literary magazine, Sisyphus On Strike, in Atlanta, Ga., in 1996. Never one to take life too seriously, Ara legally changed his last name from Hirsch to 13 in 1998, "mainly because it's funny," he said. In addition to working in news media, throughout the last 10 years, 13 gained experience in a variety of writing outlets including commercial and script writing for Grey Sky Productions, freelance writing for national publications, and authoring featured book reviews for CriticsandMonsters.com, in addition to his lauded entrance into the arena of the novel. Ara 13 moved to Galveston, Texas, in 2006, to realize his professional goal of