Val Gale was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. He served in The US Army from 1991 to 1996, stationed in New York and Seoul, Korea. He completed a B.A. in 1999 from Grandview University in Des Moines after his honorable discharge. He identifies as a trans. man. Val focuses full time on his writing since an industrial accident amputated his hand and ended his work in a tire facility, creating an opportunity to pursue his lifelong passion for creative fiction. His first novel, Different, a semi-autobiographical YA novel about a trans teen, was published in 2017. He recently completed Hunter, an LGBTQ novel telling the story of post-transition trans relationships. He has just completed his next novel, “Wild Dandelion”, a LGBTQ adult fiction romance thriller. Karen and Jan are beta readers. Val is currently working on an LGBTQ suspense novel and is experimenting with short fiction.