Das Impressum

Das Impressum... just another way to say "About Me."

I am an Albuquerque native who now lives up the road in Durango, Colorado. I write fiction, blog about microbeers with Jennifer Mason, freelance my editing and writing talents, and teach kids how to write. Words contain power, and yet they are as fun to play with as toy trains, tennis balls, puppies, and Jello. Which is why I think the rules of grammar are meant to be bent. (See? Fragments! All over the place. I might as well end sentences with prepositions. That's what I'm all about.)

I earned a bachelor's degree in English-Philosophy at the University of New Mexico, and a master's degree in Creative Writing at Trinity College Dublin. More accurately, these degrees showed me how to read critically and carefully, to edit through all stages of the creation and publication process, and to respect diversity of opinion while valuing clarity of presentation. I've also taught English as a foreign language through the Fulbright program. In various realms, I have taught (and still teach) writing and literature to students from elementary school to college.

Several publications have found my fiction fit to print. Line Zero recently anthologized one of my short stories. The Durango Telegraph has started running my humorous articles. I've recently unearthed my environmental journalist side for the New Mexico Mercury. I use the blog on this site not so much to review books as to muse on the thoughts they spur. I'm currently working on A Novel (What writer isn't?), but also A Nonfiction Project. Stay tuned.

Also, I have drunk of the source of the Sieg river in Germany, which I think means that I'm an adopted German. The German language influences my writing in subtle yet certain ways (though Siegen doesn't pop up its whack-a-mole head as often as, say, Austria does in John Irving novels). This means that I occasionally respond to people with egal or genau. I prefer to keep them guessing.