About me

My name is Erik Gustafson.Always an artist at heart, I produced many paintings during my adventures. Art also helped me through some dark times and my own struggles with mental health. I am married with two grown daughters and also have two grandsons. And three cats. I work as the senior program director at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Central Iowa Affiliate. We provide support, education, and advocacy to people in our community and work hard at ending the stigma around mental illness. I also teach human service classes at a community college.
Before that, I served 20 years in the United States Air Force and have had the fortune to live in many places around the world, including Iceland, Germany, and in a tent for a year in Saudi Arabia.
My two favorite movies are The Descent and Amadeus. Dr. Strange comes in third. But I also love many different horror movies. I was a huge Star Wars fan most my life too!
One of my favorite quote is by Maya Angelou “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
In addition to visual art, I also love to write! I have self-published five novels. I have had short stories published in many anthologies and other places including: The Horror Zine, Horrified Press, Sirens Call Publications, Pleasant Storm Entertainment, Crypto and Co., Alliterate Ink Publishing, and the Coffin Hop 2013 Death By Drive-In Anthology.