By day, Rob Whaley is a General Motors engineer, working in plants and tech facilities to promote methods and means for greater productivity and efficiency.

But in his off hours, Whaley embraces a more chaotic, less predictable world of “adrenaline-pumping” bravado, machismo and guy stuff.

Either way, the Rochester author is on the lookout for ideas, people and circumstances to adapt and fictionalize for his “Macho Man” stories and books.

His characters and settings often are locally rooted: Oakland County golfers, deer hunters, homeowners who go over the top to decorate for Christmas holidays and others who escalate backyard grilling to fierce showdowns. From seemingly everyday episodes, Whaley spins tales and adventures with humor, heart and action — sometimes provoking a knowing nod or chuckle from readers.“So, grab a cold one and buckle up for a rollercoaster ride through the world of machismo like never before,” Whaley promises in promoting “The Macho Man Chronicles.”

It’s all fiction, he says. After all, he takes care to change names and locations. This first book includes 10 chapters and a “bonus” chapter. A second book is in the works, he said.

“It is hard work, but I enjoy it,” Whaley said about his evolving pursuit of writing fiction. “My wife thinks it’s whacky, but she supports it.”

For many authors, writing is a torturous process.

Whaley, 59, said he brings some of his work skills to the task, drawing on his education as an electrical engineer with experience at Motorola, GM and his service aboard Navy nuclear submarines. Add to that his passion for mountain biking and gravel biking.

On the job, Whaley’s duties have included leadership assignments to help organizations show continuous improvement through globally recognized Six Sigma methods and leveraging data analytics to “collect, wrangle and storytell with data.”

Some of those practices have found their way into his writing habits.

“To get it done, I need to structure it like I do my work,” he said. “It’s a process for a project plan.”

He traces the idea for capturing the macho world through fictionalized storytelling to his father, now retired after three decades as a GM millwright in an Indiana transmission plant. From time to time, their father-son conversations while Whaley was growing up in southern Indiana turned to testosterone-pumping activities such as hunting, rifles, bow hunting, fishing and camping. Along the way, they shared stories about friends and acquaintances and their outdoor experiences.

Eventually, the idea took shape to gather those observations into a collection of stories.

“It’s funny,” Whaley said. “My dad came up with calling it ‘The Macho Man Chronicles.’”

Whaley’s knack for precision led him to earn certification at the Naval Nuclear Power School and to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology from Purdue University. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from North Central College in Napierville, Illinois.

After eight years in Chicago with Motorola, he joined GM in 2015 and made his home in Oakland County, with his wife, Kristin. They have four children, including a graduate of Michigan State University. Others are students at MSU, Kettering University in Flint and Oakland University.

Michigan has proven a great place to live and an ideal setting for some of his stories, Whaley said.

“From my perspective, it is the abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities like fishing, hunting, skiing, mountain biking and golf. The landscape is beautiful and lake-abundant. We have big water on both sides and the UP. And the folks who enjoy these things are rich characters. As I experience these outdoor activities that I love with all these rich characters, it provides endless opportunity to imagine and create.”

“The Macho Man Chronicles” is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and through a Substack subscription at robwhaley@substack.com.