After attending college on an athletic scholarship, Stanley Hawkins decided to join the U.S. Army, and see the world.

 

He spent 6 years in Germany as a Military Policeman. After returning briefly to the United States, he discovered his main interest in life – traveling.

 

Twenty three of his last twenty five years have been spent in foreign countries. He taught martial arts in Germany, worked as a waiter at a ski lodge in Switzerland, picked grapes in French vineyards and ran a guesthouse for backpackers in Indonesia.

 

He taught English as a Second Language in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico and Colombia.

 

However, his most rewarding work involved uncovering human rights abuses in Indonesia with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Asia. Eventually, he formed his own organization, Executive Action, Inc.

 

His human rights work was not based on second hand accounts, but rather firsthand experience. He's lived among nomadic tribes in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Irian Jaya.

 

During his 8 years in Indonesia, he decided to begin his writing career.

 

Working only part-time, he wrote articles for The Indonesian Observer, The Jakarta Post and The News Mexico.

 

 

In July 2005, he decided to retire from teaching, to pursue writing on a regular basis.