ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — By day, Dr. RJ Burle helps people out of pain. By night — or whenever time allows — he builds worlds filled with monsters, love and survival.

The Asheville chiropractor and Marine Corps veteran has published six novels and dozens of short stories, mostly in the horror and action-adventure genres. For him, healing and storytelling come from the same place — a deep need to connect.

“I used to see myself as a massage therapist who became a chiropractor,” he said. “But really, I’m a massage therapist who acquired chiropractic skills. Both chiropractic and writing are my arts.”

A creative balancing act

Burle served six years in the Marines before pursuing massage therapy and later chiropractic medicine. He’s been in Asheville since 2007, giving patients his “100 percent focus” when they’re on the table — though that intensity sometimes comes at the expense of marketing.

“My wife has to remind me, ‘RJ, you’ve got to run a business,’” he said with a laugh.

When he’s not treating patients, he writes — a passion that resurfaced in 2018 during what he calls a “midlife crisis.” In a burst of creative energy, he’s written about 40 short stories and 14 novels since then.

“I thought of all the things I’d do by the time I was 30, and I was nearing 50,” he said. “It hit me with this overpowering energy. I just had to write.”

Horror, humanity and heart

While Burle once focused on satire and humor, his writing shifted toward horror and action adventure — stories that explore terror and tenderness. His current series, set in the North Carolina mountains, follows survivors of a zombie-vampire apocalypse.

At its core, though, the story is about love.

“My main character falls in love with a vampyrus,” he said. “They both have feelings for each other, but they fear a kiss on the lips will infect them. That tension — that emotional struggle — that’s what excites me.”

Writing as a lifeline

Burle says chiropractic keeps him grounded in the real world — something he believes every writer needs.

“When I was living in Los Angeles, I hit writer’s block,” he said. “I was calling myself a writer, but I wasn’t writing. It sent me into a spiral. Chiropractic keeps me connected with people, and if you’re not connected with people, you can’t write about people.”

His wife, Amy, also an author and editor with several books of her own, understands that balance well. The two met at a writers’ workshop in 1996 and now encourage each other’s work.

“Sometimes she tells me, ‘Go to the garage and write or go to Malaprop’s and write,’” he said. “We both know what it’s like to need that space.”

Writing as calling

Burle said there’s a tendency to either be completely in the world and enjoying life or be a hermit and just write.

“You have to go back and forth between those roles. Sometimes I have a problem of getting stuck in one,” he said. “But both of them are what I pour my heart into. And so for me, neither one feels like work.”

Despite juggling two careers, Burle knows where his heart lies.

“As odd as it sounds, I’d like chiropractic to be my hobby,” he said. “When someone thanks me for getting them out of pain, that warms my heart. But writing — that’s what I wake up wanting to do. Those characters in my head deserve to have their stories told.”

For Burle, the goal isn’t fame or fortune. It’s fulfillment.

“When I told my uncles I wanted to be a writer, they said, ‘Oh yeah, sure.’ So now, when I tell them I’ve written all these books, they ask how much money I’m making,” he said. “But for me, it’s not about the money. It’s about being able to say — I did it.”