I was born and raised in rural West Virginia. Very rural. Like, no stoplights rural. Like, you could see a McDonald’s off in the distance, but the Ohio River stands between you and a Big Mac rural. The bridge to get across that river was a twenty-minute drive, so once or twice, I swam it. I realized I was gay and came out in that tiny town with no McDonald’s. I wrote about it in my debut memoir, Pretty Baby. You can buy a copy wherever fine books are sold.

We’ve all got stories to tell about the people we’ve been, and the people we want to become. Because I want to help people tell their own stories, I became a professor and a writing coach. I teach in the Writing Program at the University of Southern California, where I completed my PhD in English in 2016.

In addition to being an author and a professor, I’ve also worked as an authenticity consultant, a barista, a security guard, a line cook, and an editor. 

If you’d like to talk about a story you’re telling, be it film/tv or memoir of your own, reach out and let’s talk about how I can be of service.