About me

I was born in Youngstown, Ohio and wrote my first short story at the tender age of five (a knock-off of the movie Predator). After graduating from Baldwin-Wallace College with a BA in English, I joined the Navy and got my AA in Mandarin Chinese. After separating, I attended the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. I currently teach technical writing at the Escoffier Online Academy. I also holds an MFA from Seton Hill University, with a focus (mostly) on speculative fiction.

I currently live with my feline pals Ralph and Tesla, whom I probably talk to more than people. Together with my old best friend Butters (also a cat, RIP), they serve as inspiration for some of the talking cats (and even human characters) in my work. I also live with my partner Emily, who is incredibly supportive of my writing and is a fantastic person to bounce story ideas off of.

In 2017, I spent the better part of a year developing what would later become the “language of the gods” as a fun side project after learning about conlanging from a Game of Thrones documentary. That led to the development of my first full-length novel The Fistfighter, which was shelved as I pursued my MFA. That resulted in the follow-up novel The Journeyman Witch, which I’m currently adding the finishing touches to so I can start querying. It’s been a journey!

I’ve also recently gotten into writing science fiction, leaning more in the direction of dystopian cyberpunk. I also wrote a middle grade noir mystery starring a detective cat named Ramsey. It’s titled “The Mt. Ease Falcon,” and I’ll being going back to that story as soon as I have time. I love Ramsey and his pals.

My writing meshes my love of food and cats with my love of language learning, usually with a heavy garnish of whatever else I’m currently obsessed with. A lifelong student, I relish the learning opportunities writing affords, as well as the joys of a story well-told.