Story by Sgt. Dennis Gravelle
138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
TALL AFAR, Iraq (Feb. 24, 2006) -- During duty hours, Sgt. Mark Hayward, a native of Silver Springs, Md., 2nd Battalion, 37th Infantry Regiment, from Friedberg Germany, is the NCOIC for the Administrative Logistics Center on Forward Operating Base Sykes.
During his spare time he writes children's books for a hobby.
"I have been writing song lyrics and children's books since I was a teenager, I have mainly been focusing on the books for the last few years," he said.
Hayward was inspired to write when he read a book by Billy Joel, a famous song writer.
According to Hayward he submitted a few of his books to publishers, but has yet to have one published. Currently, he has two books called "My Dad the Musician", and "Circus Tigers" that are being reviewed for possible publication.
He said that he has written approximately 12-15 books to date.
"I basically write anywhere," he said. "I am hoping for the best, in the mean time I will just keep editing and writing to make my stories better."