Alain K. Gunn



Alain (A K) Gunn lives a life that many other authors can only dream and write about.

He is well-traveled, having visited over 50 countries on all the inhabited continents. He lives in paradise, in the center of the Pacific Ocean. An avid scuba diver and underwater photographer, he explored the coastal waters of California, the rivers of South Carolina, the Red Sea, the Caribbean, the Gulf or Mexico, and the waters of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. A retired US Army Colonel, he served during the Vietnam War and Desert Storm. He is a surgeon/educator and scientist of Professorial rank. He also sings in a choir and plays banjo in a jazz band.

His writing reflects the diversity of his life and includes numerous newspaper articles and features, over 50 research articles or academic book chapters, seven novels, one non-fiction book for mass consumption, and several short stories in four anthologies.

His books and short stories are available from Amazon in print or e-book format.

Writer’s Bio

Education:

He graduated from Lakewood High School, Lakewood, Ohio, before studying physics at Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree. After a year of graduate work at Yale, he attended Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, obtaining his MD degree. This was followed by five years training as an intern and orthopaedic surgery resident at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Employment:

He served in the US Army through three major wars – Vietnam, Panama, and Desert Storm – with major assignments at Fort Ord, California, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii. His final assignment before retiring as a Colonel was Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Tripler AMC, Honolulu, Hawaii, a post he held for six years. He then served for twelve years as chief of the medical staff at a children’s hospital in Honolulu, followed by ten years as a Professor and Chief of Pediatric Orthopaedics at a university in Texas.

Academic:

He was a Clinical Professor at two universities and Adjunct Associate Professor at another. He has taught or worked in over countries and five continents, and has been a visiting professor in the Philippines, Okinawa, Tanzania, and several institutions in the United States and a featured speaker at conferences in India, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Cuba.

Awards:

He has received numerous awards for his work, including being named an Honorary Ambassador to Guam, and receiving a commendation from the legislature of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. He was also honored as a Distinguished Graduate of his high school, and received numerous military awards, including the Order of Military Medical Merit, an Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, and a Meritorious Service Medal.

Writing:

He has been writing all his life, first as a stringer for local papers and social editor of yearbooks during high school, then as an writer and editor of the Yale Daily News during college. He authored or co-authored 53 academic articles and several textbook chapters during his academic career. He is the author of seven novels, one non-fiction book, and short stories published in four anthologies. Alain K. Gunn and A K Gunn are noms de plumes.

Other:

He is married with three children, plays banjo in a jazz band, sings in a choir, and enjoys ocean kayaking, scuba diving, and underwater photography.