My interest in stories and storytelling led me to complete a Master's degree in English at Indiana University. The study instilled a sense of respect for how well-crafted writing can convey a message and hold the reader's interest. For this reason, I chose Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction as the subject of my Master's thesis. This apparently simple narrative form in the hands of a skilled writer can make bold political and social statements while still capturing the reader's imagination. The stories I write encompass large themes by bringing them down to the personal level. The people in my stories struggle with the triumphs and failings over their position in life. They face decisions, chance and fate that force them into reactions and hard choices.

My goal as a writer is to disturb someone's life. I want the reader drawn to my work such that they ignore what they should be doing-work, sleep or eat. However, I also strive to make my stories and essays relevant to how people might view the culture we live in. I work to develop characters who are multidimensional and to make this microcosm of society important to the reader.

My Science Fiction work, Identity, discusses a theme of separation and how this might develop in society. Some might refer to this as Dystopian Science Fiction-essentially a culture that is hurtling towards a chaos of its own making. Although, to allow the novel to work, I had to include Hard Science Fiction elements. The genetic separation seen in the story is close to the race, religious and culture clashes seen down through the millennia. Genetic science and genetics in general are rewriting our understanding of the world around us. By extending this technology to a possible outcome, I gave the story a basis to sit upon.

Train to Anywhere was inspired when driving by an abandoned train stop and imagining three men waiting for a train. The train comes up, leaves, and two men are left. What happened to the third man? To me, he was running as fast as he could away from something. I needed to tell the story of what would force him to do so. This is a Crime fiction novel, with elements of Hard-Boiled detective fiction. The man in this story is running as a result of his bad decisions. He eventually has to reconcile that his lot in life is a result of following impulse rather than sense. It comes down to personal responsibility.

Beneath the Skin is an anthology of short stories and essays written over the past few years. The title refers to how at times a person will have to dig deep into their life and find out what they are really about. The answers found often are unpleasant. The subject matter ranges from a soldier suffering Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), dementia, crimes of a loved one and family struggles.