Diogenes Ruiz

I was born in the Dominican Republic, came to the US as a child, and grew up in New York City’s Washington Heights. While in second grade, I remember the announcement that President Kennedy had been shot. You could feel the tension in the air as people reacted to the news. Something was terribly wrong. Why would anyone shoot the president? Then Bobby Kennedy was shot, then Martin Luther King, Jr. It was a feeling of confusion horror and disbelief that has become all too familiar – mass shootings at our schools, racism and the gross abuse of power, sexual abuse. We are all capable of great compassion and goodness or terrible acts of cruelty toward our fellow human beings. Why people choose to do these things has always fascinated me.

After growing up Catholic, being fed up with Christianity and leaving the Church, then eventually returning to it, I’ve come to realize that the same person who is capable of committing murder has the same potential to inspire people. Choice is a powerful thing. I believe that choice is driven, not by our core fundamental differences, country of origin, economic status, skin color, or sexual orientation – It is driven by our belief in man-as-god, God-as-God, or no god at all. This belief has the greatest impact on our decision-making process. This is the great divide. (There are those who kill routinely, claiming religious reasons, but it is really about power and intolerance. That is still man-as-god.)

Exploring facets of human behavior and faith or lack thereof are the reasons I love writing fiction. My stories are not preachy. They are usually based on a stupendous “what if?” that stretches the reader’s imagination.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the read!

~ Diogenes Ruiz