Biography
Personalized copies of 665 available by request to Merréll
Merréll O'Brian didn't have a choice in being born half human and half... something else. So his father was an arch-pillar of Hell. Big deal! Lots of families have “issues”. His choice to create the world of 665 The Council of Twelve, came easier but slower than most, through much agony and many tears. It took the first half of a lifetime to garner the experience, philosophy and ideal required to write the vastness of 665 TCT.
Merréll was born in Charleston, South Carolina where he stayed until the ripe old age of Twenty-one. He first attended Baptist College studying theology to become a Southern Baptist Minister. This move was a desperate measure--a seventeen year old's attempt to escape his powerful homosexual nature from birth. He left Baptist College and his ambitions for the pastorship, taking his God with him, to attend the College of Charleston. In August 1984, although unreported to authorities, Merréll was brutally raped and tortured one night in his dorm room by a married man whom he brought in from an evening out. He refers to himself as "the most naive being on the planet" in those days. Much has changed while some things have not. It took until age forty for him to begin talking about the experience.
665 was written in minor part to contain his coming to grips with the reality of the most personal violation anyone can endure. The rape ended Merréll's stage presence as a lead singer and rock guitarist. For a decade, he was unseen and unheard to the world. He dropped out of College due to alcohol abuse and missing class. Amazingly, he never became involved with any form of illegal substances. After leaving college, during the solitude years, he became a Kung Fu instructor. In later life, he moved on to be on stage again, first and very briefly a stand-up comedian and then to do some singing again. Overcoming his rootless and unsettling course changes, combined with his other evolutions, gave him the insight that he could do anything he wanted to do. He adapted his life and learning into his writing and personal spirituality. He traveled to Europe, Mexico and Spain.
Merréll paints and reads up on astrologically-based pyschology, the occult and is very private about his spiritual connection with The Creator. He works as a certified Network Engineer creating computer networks in his “day job”. His goal is to leave the day jobs and become the novelist and fantasy artist he longs to be. He is also extremely proud of being a Scorpio\Sagittarian and all the chaos that brings. He currently lives in Florida with his hybrid Mccaw, Nah T'uk (Canaanite for “Shut up”), and rides his road bicycle on Florida's rails-to-trails when not obsessing over some new talent. 665 The Council of Twelve is Merréll's re-introduction into humanity, in the hopes that now he is strong, he can reach out and help others too weak or fragile to help themselves. It has taken a lifetime to become strong enough not merely to face his own demons, but to learn to fight them in others. His personal philosophy is written into 665: "You can't throw a rope into hell to save someone there. You have to go in and get them." Merréll is planning on relocation to the Portland-Seattle area in the near future however, is looking for the last partner he'll ever have with whom to go. He is single for the last four years after a twelve year relationship with a Marine. He is an advocate for human rights, including civil union rights for gays across the entire United States. He considers himself a political centrist, a libertarian who believes the truth is in the pragmatic middle more than on the left or right. He is a gun rights advocate and favors legalizing gay adoption rights to help appose abortion.
After you buy my book, see Merréll's Flickr Site for pictures, adventures and more. Soon coming charities and organizations will be posted to www.merrellobrian.org. Please send MerrĂ©ll an email telling him of your experience in the world of 665. He'd very much love to send you a postcard of appreciation for your purchase so, if inclined include your mailing address. A list of addresses is maintained by the author solely for the purpose of birthday cards and such. You will never receive solicitation through email or standard mail from anyone associated with this website. Lists are NOT sold nor bartered--ever.