Writers4Higher: Writers4Higher features Mitch Doxsee

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Writers4Higher features Mitch Doxsee

Welcome to Writers4Higher

The purpose of the Writers4Higher blog: to feature authors in a new light, a fresh look at the way writers use their talents and life energies to uplift humankind. Writers4Higher doesn’t promote religious or political views. Authors are asked to answer three simple questions: simple, yet complex.

This issue, Writers4Higher features

Mitch Doxsee

Hi, Mitch. Welcome to the Writers4Higher family!

Tell me about yourself. Your books(s), your life, your inspiration.

My love of the ocean is mirrored in my love for writing. I was born on Marco Island, Florida and lived with my grandparents for the first years of my life. My grandfather was a fishing guide, and I would cruise through the Ten Thousand Islands with him on many of his fishing trips. My book, Dismal Key, is the product of me trying to capture those days with him before he died of cancer. As I told my wife, I just wanted one more ride with him. Dismal Key is that ride. While human trafficking was never an issue we ran into while fishing, it is an issue that hit home with me when I did a missions trip to Amsterdam with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) during my college years. Working with YWAM opened my eyes to the horrors many of these girls go through. Moreover, it made me realize that human trafficking is not something that happens overseas, it happens in our own backyard. Just drive down I-75 and you see the billboard signs for massage parlors advertised every few miles. These are nothing more than cover ups for prostitution. Many of the girls working there are not there by choice.

Where do you see your writing taking you in the future?

Honestly, I never knew I had a novel in me until I began to write one. At this time I am working on a follow up to Dismal Key. It will be the conclusion. I have a few ideas for other books, and I will begin exploring those options. It would be nice if my writing took me to a tropical island with a house! But I don’t see that happening any time soon.

How do you use your talents and time to help others?

I use my talents every day. I teach English to seventh graders. I am fortunate that I have a supportive administration that encourages me to break out of the mainstream when introducing my students to literature. I try to make them strong readers to help them become strong writers. If they fall in love with reading, I can almost assuredly make them at least understand the importance of proper communication through the written word. It often gets challenging. However, this leads to the greatest rewards.