I’m a Texas expat laying down roots in Chicago. I got my first jazz CD in 1995 from Starbucks: a damn fine mix called Blue Note Blend. I still watch Degrassi on The N. Nearly all my exes live in Texas, and one gave me SRV’s Texas Flood. I played drums for a musical that Chuck Norris attended, and played regularly with a former colleague of Duke Ellington’s. I know my library card, Mensa card, and credit card numbers by heart. I tend to eat organic stuff and covet vegan desserts, but I can’t live without the heavenly combination of peanut butter and chocolate.

My first published short story appeared in the April 2008 issue of a kids’ world cultures magazine called Faces. I’m currently querying for literary representation with a young-adult novel called Thirty Decibels, a futuristic thriller.