Army veteran and student finds career as ghostwriter

Army veteran and  student Damien Winter is a ghostwriter for the “Warhammer” book series by Games Workshop.

Ghostwriting is when an individual writes for a person or a company anonymously.

Winter was deployed in Afghanistan from 2012 to 2013.

During his time in the army, he was part of the first Platoon.

To escape what he saw in Afghanistan, Winter began to write down his emotions.

He created short stories, novels and musings. His passion for writing flourished as a child in a Catholic orphanage located in England. He is inspired by authors Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker.

“To escape my mundane life at the Catholic orphanage, I would write stories as a form of mutual respect to the authors I would read,” Winter said.

After being adopted by American parents, he moved to the United States. Winter had noticed his writing had evolved to be more fantastical. When he began his studies at East Los Angeles College in 2017, Winter wanted to major in kinesiology. Once he received his degree, he wanted to branch out intellectually for future

employment.

Money was getting harder to get as he couldn’t find a job to sustain himself. Winter decided to see if he could profit from his written works and began to ghostwrite.

“Work is hard to get in this day and age. I got work wherever I could,” Winter said.

He always wanted to be a novelist. Aside from ghostwriting, Winter has covered press conferences for the Los Angeles Police Department and Montebello Police Department. He also worked on autobiographies for other individuals and helped improve their diction.

“Writing in somebody else’s voice is rather easy for me to do. I prefer writing fiction, but I am capable of being the devil’s advocate,” Winter said.

“When he is doing work he is usually intense and is always concentrated. When he takes breaks or finishes writing, he relaxes,” Winter’s girlfriend Zuvanny Macias said.

When he works on these assignments, Winter researches speeches and other work that these individuals have done.

He is currently writing a few articles for online websites and for various bloggers.

Winter was working on the “Warhammer: 40,000” science fiction series which was published in November.

The book series provides players background information on the characters such as their origins.

Winter was influenced by the “Ender’s Game” series by Orson Scott Card.

“Card blended a lot of philosophy that worked well with the sci-fi sense,” Winter said.

He included some of his own philosophies within the characters’ personalities.

Some philosophies he placed into the series dealt with objectivism, personal freedom and individual rights.

Winter wrote about Blood Angels, a fictional squad in the “Warhammer: 40,000” series that reflect some of his ideologies.

In the universe of the novels, the fictional Blood Angels serve to protect the Emperor of Mankind.

They use strategic techniques to protect the Emperor, similar to how Winter found his targets during his time at war.

He said the characters are similar to him. During his deployment in Afghanistan, he had to use hunting methods to find and kill the target.

He said that the relationships between the Blood Angels squad members connects to his own philosophies like loyalty and determination.

When Winter isn’t writing, he is enjoys time with his friends playing war games and trading card games.

He hopes to one day be published with his name on the front cover.

“I’m a private person so I don’t mind getting paid for doing work that other people get credit for,” Winter said.