Speculative Fiction Writer and Storyteller
Nuts & Bolts
Who I Am
I'm a (mostly) speculative fiction writer from Coastal Virginia. I dabble in Creative Nonfiction and straight (literary-ish) fiction. I often write about family and home and what it means to be a decent human being, usually disguised in stories about spaceships and other not-quite-realisms. I am passionate about the transformative power of stories and their ability to speak truth into times and places where we might not otherwise recognize it, and I'm into sharing an honest look at what it's like to be a "real" writer, whatever that means, with those who don't feel they can apply that title to themselves...yet. I've been there. I'm still there, sometimes.
I began my writing life by avoiding it. Too afraid of what failure at something so central to my identity might mean, I studied Drama and English at the University of Virginia and then worked as a professional actor (musicals, mostly). I met my husband working summer stock at an outdoor theatre in North Carolina. I went back to school the first time for a specialized MBA from George Washington University, which led to jobs in event management, program design, graphic design, web and social media management, and to working at two UNESCO World Heritage sites. All the while, I kept writing books because I couldn't stop. I eventually landed in a position writing speeches and correspondence and doing some international travel, and when I came back to work after having my first child, I decided it wouldn't do to be afraid, anymore; life is short and the future uncertain. I applied to MFA programs, and after visits to various schools, comparing offers, coordinating with my husband, and being honest about my desire to write stories in space, I ended up in the 2022 fiction cohort at George Mason University. During my three-years there, we endured a global pandemic, I taught Composition, Literature, and Creative Writing, I had a miscarriage, and then I had a baby, three months before graduation. I wrote a TON. I made real friends I never expected. And I finally felt like I was getting around to being the person I want to be.
What I'm Working On
Science Fiction, currently. A novel that's loads of spaceships and planets and physics problems and political turmoil and whatever. I don't like to hype projects that don't exist publicly yet, so I won't say a whole lot more than hold on to your hats. Gravity has a way of not feeling the same out there as it does in here.
Some Previous Work
Review: Matt Bell's Refuse to Be Done: How to Write a Novel in Three Drafts | phoebe literary magazine blog
The Longest Night: What it Means to Write through Grief | phoebe literary magazine blog
Relevant Credentials
2009
Bachelor of Arts in English and Drama, University of Virginia
(Where I was too terrified of failing at writing to ever take a class in fiction...)
2022
Master of Fine Arts in Fiction, George Mason University
3 Years of Intense Making-Up-For-Lost Time. Also, during this time, I ran a reading series, was on the editorial staff of phoebe literary journal, was a Provost's Summer Fellow, and taught Composition, Literature, and Creative Writing.
and, of course...
Other, Less-Relevant Credentials
I've done lots of other weird things. Business school (Specialized MBA from George Washington University, 2012), working in professional theatre, as a hotel concierge, at a presidential house, writing speeches, graphic design, renewable energy, and more. I've taught acting, storytelling, costume design, and musical theatre to kids; I've TA'd business school statistics; I've taught composition, literature, and creative writing at the University level. I love teaching. And, I even once got paid to fire a real cannon all summer. It's been a good (slightly wild) life, so far!