Bio

I grew up in a little suburb called Downingtown, a name so generic it sounds like the placeholder name a worn out writer jots down before they think of something more exciting. However, exciting is not the word I would use to describe Downingtown, Pennsylvania; a place where the after school hangout was a Wawa parking lot and the local claim-to-fame was a diner where they filmed a scene for Steve McQueen’s 1958 movie: The Blob. To put it mildly, I longed to escape and reading as many books as my $7 weekly allowance could afford was my only means. Of course, reading led to writing led to dreaming about being a professional writer, but declaring that to my conservative community was on par with shouting a 4-letter dirty word on Main Street. No one around me thought far enough into the future or high enough into the career stratosphere to imagine a life in Hollywood. For them, it was all about "sensible choices", career tracks with a "5 year plan". The only plan I wanted to pursue was the one that seemed impossible.

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I should admit that this confidence was often relegated to my teen bedroom. Outside in the world, I never felt funny enough; smart enough; or popular enough. But I had the hunger. I didn't want the colorful worlds I fell in love with to only exist in my favorite books growing up, so I decided to see as much of the real world as possible. I wanted to absorb experiences like a sponge, channeling them into my writing. My travels zig-zagged me from Pennsylvania to California; Czech Republic to Germany; back to California then COVID lockdown in Georgia; and now in Orlando, Florida.

 

Traveling gave me perspective as I witnessed the European equivalent of my small town and the residents there that dream big just like me. It taught me that feeling "not funny/smart/popular enough" was just being human and wasn't a life sentence. With every risk, I found my confidence; every plane boarded, I felt the buzz of an exciting new chapter about to teach me something new. 

 

It's for all these reasons that I'm so closely drawn to coming-of-age stories and the fantasy genre. I love the moment before the start of adventure; the "life or death" stakes that force you to change; and the imaginative world-building that's as dense and colorful as my dreams as a child.