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 pal Tesla, whom I probably talk to more than people. Together with my old best friends Butters and Ralph (also cats, 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.