Michael Burns

Michael Agustus William Burns is a 38-year-old African American Marine Corps veteran, author, storyteller, narrator, and entrepreneur. Born on November 4, 1986, to a 15-year-old mother at a girls’ home in Wheeling, West Virginia, his early life was rooted in strength, transition, and family. He was raised between Weirton and Steubenville, Ohio, shaping his grit and perspective long before adulthood.

After graduating high school in 2005, Michael joined the United States Marine Corps, where he served as an ammunition technician. He became a father, stationed at Camp Pendleton, and was medically retired in 2009. The years that followed were marked by resilience and reinvention—navigating divorce, returning to school at Full Sail University, launching the indie label Strict Business Entertainment, and learning lessons through life’s toughest trials, including incarceration and personal setbacks.

Yet, through every twist, Michael never stopped creating. He turned pain into prose, struggle into structure, and hardship into healing. In 2025, he founded Helluvabook.com, a literary platform and publishing movement where he released over 15 ebooks—a collection of five trilogies—accompanied by audiobooks that echo his truth and triumph.

His work is a testament to survival, reinvention, and the enduring power of storytelling. From the front lines to the front page, Michael is building legacy through voice, vision, and an unshakable belief that every story—no matter how gritty—deserves to be told.

I’m owner of Helluvabook.com with at least 18 self-published ebooks.

Some college majored in business Administration but didn’t finish