I was born and raised by my parents in Cleveland, Ohio. My two older brothers taught me to read at a young age and books have been a large part of my life ever since. After graduating high school, I studied psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and then at Loyola University Chicago where I received a PhD in Clinical Psychology. I lived in Chicago for over a decade before relocating to the Cincinnati area. In Chicago, I practiced as a licensed psychologist working with children and families impacted by prenatal alcohol and drug exposure for several years.

 

As long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a writer. At one point in my childhood, I even recorded myself on audio tape describing ideas that I thought would make for good stories. Don’t be fooled by the bowl-cut, I had big dreams. (As an aside, having listened to these tapes as an adult now, I have no idea how my younger self intended to weave these random thoughts into any kind of coherent story or even what I found interesting about them but I admire the ambition.) I made several half-hearted attempts at writing before I had the idea for Never Wake a Serial Killer in 2007. I started with great energy but soon petered out. I went a period of 3 years where I didn’t write at all, but then picked things up and was able to finish it.

 

I have always been an avid reader, although these days life doesn’t seem to leave much time for it. I tend to prefer commercial fiction with my favorite genres including mystery, crime, suspense, thrillers, supernatural, and science fiction. Occasionally, I go for a literary work, both classic and contemporary. In non-fiction, I read a lot of books on psychology including anything from books heavy on theory and research to more practical self-help books.