I'm the author of the literary novel, THE WIND THIEF (Alondra Press, October 2009), and GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS FROM THE GROUND UP: A THOROUGH PRIMER FOR THE WRITERS OF FICTION AND NONFICTION (Central Avenue Press 2007). A journalist by training, I've interviewed Apollo 13 Astronaut James Lovell, former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos, actress Marlo Thomas and other celebrities for such publications as the Chicago Tribune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Inside Karate Magazine. I've had a play (Frozen, or Dead?) produced in Hollywood and fiction published in Watchword, the Berkeley Fiction Review, Iconoclast and other literary magazine. I'm an active facilitator of both in-person and online writing workshops and conferences — events that are listed on my website — and maintain Growing Great Writers From the Ground Up, a blog for writers. THE WIND THIEF is the story of a young thief from India who's on his way to a better life in America when he gets lost in the Sahara Desert. He's rescued by a strange young woman who thinks she can talk to the wind, a gift/curse she believes will save the world from an imminent apocalypse. The thief has no choice but to follow, yet when he gets the chance to escape the woman, he realizes he no longer can. This story is a true book club book, the reason I'm actively looking to connect with book clubs. For those that choose my book for discussion, I'll be happy to meet with members online (or in-person, if within the San Francisco Bay Area) to answer questions.

Bachelor of Journalism, University of Missouri - Columbia
Pushcart Prize Nominee
Member of Women's National Book Association
Member of California Writers Club