I called 20 years of journalism quits after helping make a pregnant giraffe become YouTube’s second-most watched live video, and IMG_20220619_113953730_HDRmoved east to live closer to my wife’s parents so our kids could know their Granny and Papa as they grew up. I am now a stay-at-home dad and work part-time at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, where, among my other duties, I coordinate young adult Dungeons & Dragons, writing, and book clubs. I’m also known to hang out with the chess club now and again.

In addition to reading and writing, I love to get outdoors with my wife, twin boys, Ben and Ollie, and fur babies, particularly exploring the national parks. I’m an avid Minnesota hockey fan. In the Before Times, I had a successful travel blog and adventured quite extensively, self-publishing two travel memoirs as I hit all seven continents with plans to retrace many of my steps once I got married.

Following up my undergrad from the University of Minnesota, I graduated from the University of Denver’s Creative Writing master’s program, and have continued my creative education with classes at the Highlights Foundation. I’m a member of the Buffalo-Niagara Children’s Writers and Illustrators group and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, for which I volunteered as West/Central New York’s Co-Assistant Regional Advisor. I was also selected to participate in the 2023 Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association‘s mentee program.