Photo coming soon…
I was born in 1984 in Stoughton, Massachusetts, and have lived in the southeastern part of the state my whole life. I graduated from Curry College in 2007 with a Bachelor’s in English with a concentration in Journalism and a minor in Communications. My full-time job is currently as a technical editor at an internationally known engineering company. However, you may know me best from my “side jobs” as a creative writer and a contributor to two different websites: Sonic Cathedral, and Suite101.com.
I’ve been writing ever since I first picked up a crayon. It all started with those funny little stories about dancers, talking animals, and crazy adventures with friends to exotic or make-believe places. And it’s never stopped. I don’t exactly remember when I decided to be a serious writer… It probably happened when I was in middle school or high school. But when I made that choice, I knew it was the right one, and I’ve stuck with it ever since. And I pursued all mediums of writing: novels, poetry, song lyrics, newspaper articles, and short stories.
My journalism history began in 1995, when I joined Attleboro Middle School’s student newspaper. I continued working with school papers when I moved from Attleboro to Foxboro in 1996, and all the way through high school and college. Also, during my junior and senior years of high school (2001 – 2003), I wrote articles and contributed story ideas to “The Page,” the high school student section of The Sun Chronicle. In fact, I was one of a dozen “founding” writers for “The Page.” Then, at Curry College, I spent all four years on the student newspaper The Currier Times and was the Editor-In-Chief during my senior year.
I began writing the first book of my fantasy series during the summer of 2002. The series is tentatively titled “The Sorcerer Queen,” and the first book is “Light in the Barrenlands.” It took me two years to finish the first draft, only because I was juggling school, work, and other activities with my writing.
In August 2008, I began my freelance work with Sonic Cathedral, one of the largest and most well-known online music stores that focuses on female-fronted rock and metal music. I write CD reviews once a month for their webzine and contribute occasional interviews. Some of the bands I’ve covered range from the superstars (Within Temptation, Ayreon) to second-tier acts (Flowing Tears, Autumn, Stream of Passion) to up-and-coming bands (Dejafuse, Witchbreed, Dendura) – and the range of music is quite broad, too.
In 2011, I joined two more websites to continue writing about female-fronted rock and metal in different ways. Unleash the Furies was born in March and is a collaboration with several of my friends to promote up-and-coming femme rock/metal bands. Then in August, I joined Suite101.com to continue reviewing female-fronted rock and metal albums. I also plan to review other kinds of music (male-fronted metal, mainstream artists I listen to) and write about other topics at Suite101 as ideas come to me. Click here to visit my Suite101 profile.
Favorite…
Books:
- His Dark Materials series (particularly The Golden Compass) – Philip Pullman
- The Harry Potter series – J.K. Rowling
- The Hunger Games trilogy – Suzanne Collins
- A Gift from the Sea – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime – Mark Haddon
- The Weight of Silence – Heather Gudenkauf
- The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
- Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
- The Road – Cormac McCarthy
Authors: Paulo Coelho, J.K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, Ursula Leguin, Suzanne Collins, Allan Hunter, Michelle Moran
Poets: Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda, Sandra Beasley, Patrick Kaylor, Robert Frost
Musicians: Let’s split these by genre – metal (Flowing Tears, Kamelot, Stream of Passion, Epica, The Mariana Hollow, Arjen Lucassen), rock (Within Temptation, Autumn, U2, Coldplay, Anathema, 3), and pop (Darren Hayes, Seal, Josh Groban, Adele, Daughtry)
Albums: If I started a list, I don’t think I’d be able to stop myself…
Activities and Interests (besides writing): Reading, music, movies (action/adventure, fantasy, drama), knitting, cooking, taking walks, watching sports (Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Boston Celtics – yup, a Boston sports fan at heart!), spending time with family and friends
Quick Facts About Me:
- I graduated as Co-Valedictorian of Curry College’s Class of 2003.
- My poetry publishing credits so far include The Curry Arts Journal.
- I’ve met two of my all-time favorite music artists: Within Temptation (first in 2007, during a meet-and-greet after their first concert in Boston; and again in 2011, when I interviewed Sharon den Adel in person for Sonic Cathedral), and Darren Hayes (during a meet-and-greet after a special acoustic performance in Burlington, MA).
- I was the recipient of excellence awards in English, Journalism, and Poetry before I graduated from Curry.
- My first job was as a counter clerk at a dry cleaner’s. Not very exciting, but they were nice enough to let me do my homework in the back room!
- I was an accomplished dancer through college. I started with ballet lessons at age 7, then ballet and jazz at age 9, and hip-hop at age 13. I even choreographed a hip-hop solo dance to “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas for my college dance show during my junior year.
- Before I decided to be a writer, I had so many answers to that elusive childhood question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. At various points, I wanted to be a dancer, an illustrator, a singer, even a meteorologist!
- I still have a “secret” longing to write song lyrics. I wrote lots of potential lyrics in high school, but never found a musical collaborator. Anyone looking for a lyricist?
- I was the editor of Foxboro High School’s student newspaper, The Warrior, during my sophomore year. After that, the English Department had trouble finding a faculty advisor for the paper, and so we didn’t publish another issue of the paper until the last semester of my senior year.
