What do you get when you cross a marketer, musician, cancer patient advocate, and espionage novelist?
You get Ray Hartjen.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ray on the Light-Minded Arts podcast, and let me tell you—this guy has lived a few lifetimes. From investment banking to SaaS software, from writing about hockey to writing about hope, Ray’s journey is a masterclass in creative reinvention. And at the center of it all? Story.
Let’s dive into his story—and maybe find a little fuel for our own.
- The Soundtrack of a Life
Ray lives in Southern California, where the traffic is thick but the creative energy is thicker. He’s a father, a musician (one half of the acoustic duo The Chronic Padres), and a man who’s faced down cancer with grit and grace.
The band name, by the way? Not a reference to his diagnosis of multiple myeloma (a blood cancer, not to be confused with melanoma). It’s a nod to fatherhood—he and his bandmate are both “chronically” dads. Add in some Dia de los Muertos flair and a love for sugar skulls, and you’ve got a vibe.
But music is just one of Ray’s creative outlets. His true north has always been storytelling.
- From Bookshelves to Battlefields
Ray grew up in a house where books weren’t just decoration—they were DNA. His father, a career military officer, had over 20,000 books in his personal library. That’s not a typo. Twenty. Thousand.
Every room had floor-to-ceiling shelves. Every shelf was packed. And every book was an invitation to imagine something bigger.
As a kid, Ray dreamed of being a football player, a fighter pilot, a race car driver—whatever matched the season or the story he was reading at the time. That imagination, fed by a steady diet of history and heroism, would eventually find its way into his writing.
Especially in his debut novel, Outflanked, an espionage thriller laced with military precision. His dad, fittingly, was his first beta reader. And when Ray got a detail wrong—like the timing of a tactical maneuver—his dad didn’t hesitate to call it out. “If you wrote it that way,” he told Ray, “your character would be dead by chapter two.”
That’s the kind of feedback you don’t get from a writing workshop.
- If Not Now, When?
Ray didn’t start writing books until he was 56. It was the pandemic, and like many of us, he found himself with time—and questions.
What do I want to do with the time I have left?
That question hit harder than most. Ray had recently been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. It’s incurable, but treatable. And it lit a fire under him.
He remembered a conversation he’d had—many times—with his friend Tom Olenek, a proud Pittsburgh “Yinzer.” Tom had this theory: that the Pittsburgh Steelers saved the city during its darkest days, when the steel industry collapsed and the city was on the brink.
Ray grabbed Tom by the shoulders and said, “If not now, when?”
That question became a motto. And that motto became a book: Immaculate: How the Steelers Saved Pittsburgh.
It’s part sports story, part industrial history, and all heart. Even if you’re not a football fan (I’m not), Ray’s passion for the people of Pittsburgh—their grit, their resilience, their blue-collar pride—makes it hard not to care.
And here’s the kicker: Ray grew up a Cowboys fan. The Steelers were his childhood villains. Writing a book that celebrates them? That’s growth. That’s storytelling.
- The Power of Story
Ray’s career has zigzagged through industries—banking, pharma, tech, marketing—but the throughline has always been story.
Whether he was writing blog posts for a company, crafting a brand narrative, or building a novel from scratch, Ray knew one thing: people connect through stories. They always have.
“People remember what they feel,” he told me. “If you can pull on their emotions, they’ll stay with you.”
That’s not just good advice for writers. That’s gospel for anyone trying to make a dent in the noise—whether you’re building a brand, launching a podcast, or just trying to get someone to read your email.
- Writing Through the Pain
Ray’s second book, Me, Myself, and My Multiple Myeloma, is a memoir. It’s raw. It’s honest. And it’s not just about cancer—it’s about community.
After his diagnosis, Ray found himself answering the same questions over and over from newly diagnosed patients and their families. He wanted to scale that one-on-one support into something bigger. So he wrote the book.
It wasn’t easy. Writing about bone marrow biopsies and stem cell transplants isn’t exactly light work. But it was cathartic. And it’s made a difference.
People from all over the world—Australia, South Africa, Iran—have reached out to Ray because of that book. They’ve said things like, “I can’t talk to my spouse about this, but I can talk to you.”
That’s the power of vulnerability. That’s the power of putting your story out there.
- Fiction vs. Nonfiction (and Why Ray Writes Both)
Ray’s written five books—four nonfiction, one novel. And while he’s proud of all of them, Outflanked holds a special place. It was his test: Can I write fiction? Can I build a world from scratch?
Turns out, yes.
And now he’s working on the sequel.
But he’s not doing it alone. Ray reads every review, every comment. Not to chase five stars, but to learn. To listen. To build a better story next time.
“This is a collective effort,” he told me. “I need your feedback so I can be better.”
That’s a mindset I respect. And it’s one I try to bring to Light-Minded Arts too.
- Final Thoughts
Ray Hartjen is a reminder that it’s never too late to start. That storytelling isn’t just a skill—it’s a lifeline. And that sometimes, the best way to fight back against the hard stuff is to write your way through it.
Whether you’re writing novels, memoirs, or just trying to figure out what your next creative move is, take a page from Ray’s playbook:
- Start now. Not later.
- Tell the truth, even when it hurts.
- Listen to your audience—but don’t let them steer the ship.
- And above all, keep telling stories.
Because someone out there needs to hear yours.
To connect with Ray, Visit his website at: https://rayhartjen.com/
Don’t forget to check out his books and if you like them, leave a review!
For the full interview, check it out here: https://youtu.be/ahdGECHxuew
Leave a Reply