Okay, I stole this idea from ali cross. She did this super-cool post for the benefit of her new followers. So, here are a few snippets—in no particular order—about who I am.
I’ve got a B.A. in English and Psychology from Indiana University and a K-8 Teaching Credential from the University of Alaska Southeast.
I was the Lead Teacher in a Therapeutic Day Treatment School in Fairbanks, Alaska. I worked there for fifteen years teaching and counseling junior high and high school students who’d been removed from the mainstream for various reasons: violence, drug use, defiance, depression…the list goes on.
I’ve been happily married for 14 years. Yes, I sometimes talk about my wife on this blog. She’s a teacher and a writer too. We exchange manuscripts and we still like each other. She’s my best friend.
A few other jobs I have held: salmon cannery fish-slimer, wilderness guide for teens, field biology technician, naturalist/outdoor educator.
I participated in a ten-day deep-ecology meditation retreat on an uninhabited island in Southeast Alaska. It was a mind blowing experience—that topic deserves a post of its own.
Places I lived before settling in Alaska: Pennsylvania, Indiana, Massachusetts, Idaho, California.
I write young adult and middle grade fiction. I hope my stories will speak to people across ages and gender; however, I often write with the struggling and reluctant reader population in mind. As a teacher I love opening the world of reading to non-readers by connecting them with books that speak to them. My personal sun shines a little brighter whenever this happens because that means they’ve just found a way to get to know themselves and the world in a new way.
A few more things: I love sea kayaking, and all kinds of wilderness travel, running, movies, good books, walking in big cities, and cooking for friends.
So, yeah, that’s a little of who I am. Thanks for stopping by today.
Northwriter 