I'm not sure who my influences are, but some of my favorite authors these days (in no particular order) are Ann Patchett, Jeffrey Eugenides, Curtis Sittenfeld, Donna Tartt, Joy Williams, and Rebecca Curtis.

I received my MFA degree in creative writing from the University of Montana. After that, I was a Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University and the writer-in-residence at Portsmouth Abbey School. I've won some writing awards, too, including the Chris O'Malley Fiction Prize from the Madison Review.