I was born in Summit, New Jersey, on December 26, 1969. I lived in a town called Springfield, New Jersey, for a few years until we moved to a town about 20 minutes away called Fanwood. Strangely, we moved back to Springfield four years later and that's where I lived all the way through high school. No, it's not the same Springfield where the Simpsons live, but lots of funny things have happened there too!
My father works in a men's clothing store but he also used to be a professional magician. As for my mother, she used to work in Macy's, but before that, she was a belly-dancing instructor! We still have the brass finger cymbals in the garage! I have an older brother and a younger brother, neither of whom have jobs as interesting as mine!
I discovered I wanted to be a writer when I was in college at Rutgers University. Introduction to Creative Writing was the first class I ever took where I felt as though I could really spread my wings and express myself. I loved not feeling the confines of a Scantron sheet or the contents of a history book. And although I had never done much serious writing before then, I seemed to take to it like a rat takes to a sewer pipe.
But real life smacked me in the face.
It's one thing to have dreams and aspirations about becoming a successful writer, but sometimes following your dreams can be a dangerous thing. I decided to go on to professional school so I could pursue a career with a more predictable income. I became a chiropractor. Of course with the mess our health care system is in, my income is anything but predictable, but at least my salary isn't dependent on razzling or dazzling an editor. And I'm not waiting tables.
Before I was a chiropractor, I had a number of interesting jobs including: paperboy, dry-cleaning clerk, office temp, bartender, worker at a rehabilitation center for birds of prey, factory worker in a factory that made those foil things that go around potted plants, restoration worker on a medieval castle in southern France and salesperson for printed tees and sweatshirts. There are probably other jobs, but that's what comes to mind.
I got married in 1999 and moved to Albany, New York where we split our time between the capital of New York State and Lake George.
When I'm not writing, I love spending time in Lake George and traveling to other places. But I never go anywhere without a book!
Watch the video below to learn about my efforts to rebuild the library at St. Anne Institute in Albany, NY.
If you can't see the video, click here to watch it at YouTube.
I was born in Summit, New Jersey, on December 26, 1969. I lived in a town called Springfield, New Jersey, for a few years until we moved to a town about 20 minutes away called Fanwood. Strangely, we moved back to Springfield four years later and that's where I lived all the way through high school. No, it's not the same Springfield where the Simpsons live, but lots of funny things have happened there too!
But real life smacked me in the face.