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Bio:
The earliest sequential pages date to October 1981 when I wrote and illustrated a six-year-old kid's rendition of a book concerning space and the universe. Against a backdrop of seventies-style construction paper, six or seven bound pages of rudimentary artwork were accompanied by formative scrawlings: "...meteors, bumpy road - watch out...30,000 miles ahead. Saturn. Look out for Martians. Space!" The spelling was more or less correct, my Earth-Moon distance off by about 209,000 miles. Later that year, the local newspaper published a short story I wrote titled My Dog Rover as part of a school program to encourage young writers.
I chose fiction writer as my freshman year career study, and wrote this essay. Incidentally, I enjoyed writing throughout high school, and have been pursuing it as a career since age 20, when the first op-ed was published in a local newspaper. Three years and several op-eds later, the first short story was published in a legitimate anthology. These years were marked by strong passion for character in short story writing, and I think this led to my natural interest in screenwriting and dialog. By 25, I'd picked up a gig as a Staff Writer on a show with NBC, made a half-assed move to Los Angeles, and joined the Writer's Guild. Life was good.
Interests in page layout, printing and web design surfaced at age 27, with the discovery that a writer could make money off web content and books. I self-published my first book at age 28 with a vanity press, and actually printed my second book at age 30 on a Komori Lithrone six-station offset press, with the help of a master printer, of course. The quality, concept and marketing were sufficient that I was able to legitimately publish both of them, available "at your local bookstore," as they say. With positive reviews and a successful West Coast book tour, all 2,000 copies sold, and the newly-formed independent publishing company was able to profit and expand into distribution in 2007. At 31, I was featured with my associate on the cover of the San Francisco Chronicle's Datebook for notable accomplishments in self-publishing.
In 2006 I was privileged to volunteer in WGA's Screenwriting Mentorship program with UCLA, and also the WGA 2006 / 2007 Radio and Television Awards. Community volunteering is perhaps more important and in 2004, I drafted a 240-page feasibility study presented to the City of Ventura, and founded what is today a 501(c)3 pending non-profit currently raising thousands of dollars for the West Park rebuild, including a quarter million dollar grant offered from professional skateboarder and MTV sitcom celebrity Rob Dyrdek.
Today, I continue to hone the writing, editing, design and programming skills. Diverse interests create deep story wells, and current work tends to draw wide, including skateboarding, academic essays, journalistic reporting, sports writing, short stories, politics, movie and book reviews, science, feature films, health and wellness issues, self-improvement, television, tech, and world religions. I currently work as a print designer for a well-known publisher in San Francisco, and I'm also completing my first degree from City College of San Francisco, an AA with a Production Certificate in Web Design.
In spare time, you might find me reading books about science, having a drink or barbecue, or possibly going to and fro on a bike or skateboard. I am interested in discussing screenplays, books, articles, writing or editing positions, and print or web design projects. I currently have a few decent film and book projects worth pitching, and inquiries from agents, publishers, producers, tech firms, temp agents and generally benevolent humans are welcomed.
