Bio
Early Years: Early Years Mike was born Michael L. F. Slavin in St. Joseph Missouri in 1953. His grandparents raised him from the time he was just a baby. His grandfather was a truck driver and his grandmother was a stay at home grandma. Neither had graduated elementary school, but they always told him he could do anything he wanted to do. She was a voracious reader. They both gave love and direction. Mike always told everyone, “My Grandparents started all that I ever hope to be or become.”
Military Service (10 Years)
During ten years of service with the United States Army, Mike served as an infantry officer and was in the armored cavalry. He later became an aviation officer with a secondary specialty in Operations Research and Systems Analysis. Other positions held while serving as an Army Officer were; commanding officer of two aviation units, being a general’s aide, holding various staff positions, and even being the aide to the President of the United States during his visit to South Korea.
Rough Years (7 Years)
After being recruited out of the Army, the next seven years as a civilian were quite difficult and even included a bankruptcy. In those 7 years after leaving the Army, he held many different positions as he struggled to find his place in the civilian world. Among many other jobs, he also sold insurance, was a headhunter, raised money for real estate, and tried multi-level marketing, worked with mergers and acquisitions, and more. Mike after 7 years of struggling, was able to start his own company with no money of his own. He raised $203,000 from four people he did not know to start his company. With a few sacrifices and a lot of hard work, he was a millionaire three years later.
Oil & Gas Exploration Company CEO (24 Years)
Mike was the founder and CEO of an oil and gas exploration company for 24 years before he sold it. His company was involved in all aspects of oil and gas exploration, from prospecting to leasing, drilling, and production. With over 35 years of management experience, he was also involved in small business start-ups and funding. Fast forward to today, with so many people out of work and millions of others struggling financially, he had the idea that maybe he could help. Using his past experiences to help others succeed financially became the inspiration to write his first book, One Million in the Bank: How To Make $1,000,000 With Your Own Business, Even If You Have No Money or Experience. It is a best seller and has won 7 awards. This title is under Michael L. F. Slavin.
Writing Crime/Thrillers (Present)
Mike sold his company in 2016 to be able to care for his wife full time who has Parkinson’s disease. With no business to occupy his time, he decided to write a novel in-between caring for his wife. So, he took a laptop and sat on the couch next to his wife. He set a goal of 1,260 words a day. Mike couldn’t believe that seventy-two days later, he had about 91,000 words. He also couldn’t believe that he thought it was pretty good. It got edited down to about 80,000 and the novel became better through editing. That was Kill Crime with Jeff Case as the hero. Mike shocked himself that he had written a novel.
Education
Mike graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975 with a B.S. in Engineering. He also had graduate study in Operations Research and Systems Analysis, and an M.S. in Management in 1984 from Troy State University. He also has a commercial pilot’s license in both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.
Lives In Houston
Mike lives in Houston, Texas with his wife of almost 40 years. Mike also feels blessed to have two grown children who have done well in life.