I grew up in Ohio, collecting tad poles from the perpetual puddle at the corner of my street and swinging from vines in the forest that surrounded my home. I believed I could control the weather, as on several occasions, thunderstorms erupted across the skies after I'd conducted a vigorous rain to avoid mowing the lawn. Once, a result of a self-given experiment, I almost caught the front yard on fire with a rusty can of lighter fluid and a book of matches.

Luckily, my inquisitve nature and sense of adventure have led me to safer endeavors these days, such as writing. And of course, I've since realized that I cannot actually control the weather. It's a good thing, too, because a little humility is important when you choose to be a writer (when often, a rejection letter is a good thing).

A graphic designer by trade, I write from my apartment in San Francisco during my "off" hours, when I'm not out on the streets with my camera or enjoying the benefits of my preferred writing topic, travel.

My stories have appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, Transitions Abroad Magazine, escapeartist.com, BootsnAll.com, Juked.com, and talesofasia.com.