John Herbst

I have moved many times in my life and people would always ask why? My life story is complicated, so it was hard to give them a simple answer. I took Comp 1-4 and creative writing in college and loved it. Years later I was in a natural disaster back home in Colorado and evacuated. My wife and I lived in motels for awhile until we could get back on our feet. One day my wife suggested that maybe this was the time to write a book about my life, which would answer many questions regarding my moves and life in general. She had a good idea and I gave it some thought. A couple of weeks later I decided to write a book about my life for my daughter, mother, and two sisters. It would be kind of a legacy to the ones I love. The theme was based on places I lived and why I lived there. It covers a span from 1951-2017. I now have nine published novels.

My latest book is number three in the Destination series. Destination Unknown and Destination Still Unknown are about my lifestyles and moves. Destination Is Known, is about where I really belong on this beautiful earth. It's not a city, town or state, but the environment that I'm the happiest in. All of my books are adventure based and have life's twists and turns. Each book has messages and lessons to be learned or appreciated.

So far, all of my characters are people I know. In some cases I describe their physical looks, but in all cases I go by their personalities. Even in my four-book fantasy series the characters are based on friends.

Since in the years that I wrote five of my books I worked full time, had outdoor adventures, and traveled, my writing schedule was three hours a day. Now my wife and I are full time traveling house and pet sitters, which gives me more time to write. I write three to four hours a day, mostly in the afternoon. I'm still very active outdoors and in the gym, several days a week.

One of the most rewarding moments for me is that I get to reflect back on my life! The stories bring out various emotions in me, and I hope they do in others. It's also rewarding when I get positive feedback on my writing or stories. An underlining reward I get are the messages I have in the stories, which I really hope help people.

My biggest challenge is by far, marketing. Being self published means I do all the marketing, not my expertise! A personal challenge has been sharing stories of dark times, which brings out emotions that aren't always pleasant. However, on the bright side, telling these stories may perhaps help others who have similar experiences as mine.

I write through KDP and I'm happy with them.

Keep writing and don't give up. Whether your books sell like you want them to or not, be happy in the writing part of your journey, no matter what. I'm a storyteller and happen write them down. So far, I'm not making a living at writing, but I love what I do. Strive for doing your best!

I'm terrible at it! My books sell on the Amazon bookstore, my author page, and I post on Facebook and Linkedin. I'm a people person and therefore sell books by mouth as well.

Destination Is Known came out June 6, 2025. I am now writing a book about my life of living near various water sources while dealing with two water phobias. I hope to demonstrate that a person can live with phobias and still enjoy life.