Mike Neil — Artist, Author & Founder of the Washington State Chaplain Foundation
Welcome to Mike Neil's website. Author and Artist
Mike Neil — Author · Artist · Officer
Artist & Author
Welcome to Mike Neil's website. Author and Artist
Mike Neil — Author · Artist · Officer
Artist & Author
Welcome to Mike Neil's website. Author and Artist
Mike Neil — Author · Artist · Officer
Artist & Author
Mike and Sue Neil married in 1973 and have been dating since 1968
Officer, Artist & Storyteller
Mike Neil served as a Washington State Fish and Wildlife Officer for over three decades, patrolling rivers, forests, and wilderness areas across the Pacific Northwest.
During his career, Mike trained and worked alongside three different K-9 partners — Rex, Tracer, and Isaac. He investigated wildlife crimes and developed a deep love for the natural world that would later inspire his pen-and-ink wildlife art and his novels set in Africa.
Mike also served as Senior Chaplain for the Washington State Patrol Chaplain Foundation from 2011 to 2021, ministering to officers and their families during times of crisis and loss.
Read Mike's Full Story
Featured novel
Mike Neil the Author and Artist
A storyteller is a time traveler. Novels transport the reader to a place that never was, or to a time long past that can never be reached. The author controls the narrative, painting vivid pictures with words. For the author, the reality of this craft means knowing the characters so deeply that their every response in a conversation rings true, keeping them completely real for the reader. What would this character say in this situation?
Mike & Sue Neil
Life Together, in 2026 they celebrated 53 years of marriage.
Mike and Sue were high school sweethearts. They met when Sue was in the fourth grade and Mike was in the fifth grade, when the Neils and the Newschwanders were family friends. They didn't start dating until Sue was a sophomore and Mike was a junior. They dated for six years until Mike came home from the Navy.