I can’t honestly say that I’ve always wanted to be a writer. When I was little I was more interested in being the characters in the stories than the person writing them. Eventually I realized that wasn’t a viable career path. I’ve always made up stories, but it took me a while to decide to write them down for other people to read. I’ve basically just never been very comfortable living in the real world.

I grew up on a farm outside of a small town in Virginia. I lived in California for a year, but found the sunshine depressing. I now live with my wife and several cats in Oregon, where the weather is more compatible with my disposition.

Along the way I’ve done a lot of the kind of dead-end jobs that sound interesting in an author bio. Plumbing laborer. Telemarketer. Warehouse laborer. Frozen food salesperson. And for almost a decade I worked in a casino, which is not nearly as interesting as it sounds.

When I’m not reading or sleeping or listening to music, I can be found wandering the forests of the Oregon coast.