“Tell them stories. They need the truth. You must tell them true stories, and everything will be well, just tell them stories.” -Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass
Short version: I have been writing, making movies, telling lies, and otherwise creating stories pretty much since conception. Seriously.
Long version: I was born (two weeks late) in Buffalo, New York during the exciting time in American history known as “The 80s.” It was the decade that gave us such things as the mullet, the moonwalk, and the unfortunately not-well-thought-out hypercolor clothing, among other wonders. I don’t remember much of it, and most of what I think I remember usually ends up being from “The Early 90s.”
This is seriously the first image that comes up when I google "the early 90s"
I had two older brothers growing up*, which means not only was the one Barbie doll I ever owned used as a hockey puck, but I was the one who suggested using it. Despite the fact that my parents met while in a religious cult, my childhood and family life was pretty normal and uneventful. I mean, in terms of what some other people consider normal. I had a nuclear family and attended public school. But my mother is also a doctor of holistic medicine (which means I haven’t used fluoridated toothpaste since 1995), and my father owns an organic lawn care company (which means when other kids were writing essays on recycling during Outdoor Education Week, I was writing about the horrifying effects of pesticides and herbicides on squirrels.)
Hipster says: we were buying organic before it was cool.
I spent most of middle school and high school hanging out with my friends in the woods, sneaking into abandoned places, sneaking out of school early, sneaking into our parents liquor cabinets, having sneaky 2 am tea parties in the middle of the road, sneakily convincing our parents to let us dye our hair fun colors, and generally being very sneaky. I also did a lot of things I probably won’t approve of my children doing if I ever become a parent, but I turned out pretty all right.
What?
I discovered my love of stories when I was very young. In fact I don’t remember a time when I didn’t live life like it was a story, playing scenes out in my head before they happened (or scenes that would never happen at all), and always imagining climactic resolutions to my days. By the age of 10, I had determined that I would be a writer when I grew up. Immediately, people tried to dissuade me–such is the life of an artist–but my love of writing never waned. It has only ever grown.
I won’t tell you about my early novels that were abandoned, because besides knowing they were unsalvageable they are also lost forever, thanks to the Tears-Forever Hard Drive Crash of 2009. (But I do have an epic science-fiction-fantasy series I’ve been working on in some form or another since I was eleven, that I’m hopelessly in love with. It’s called The Lotus Children Saga, and the day I actually write a draft I’m satisfied with, Satan might need to consider buying a parka.) But when I was 23/24 and in my last stretch of college, I spent a semester abroad studying in Oxford, England. It changed my life. I learned to embrace adventure even more fully than before, and I learned to stop waiting around for life to deliver things to me that I wanted. I also began writing and posting a web serial called The Poppet and the Lune, which had a small but loyal following. Upon returning to the states, I continued to write and post weekly updates in The Poppet and the Lune. I also met my soul mate, got married, discovered I had a long-lost half brother (*note asterisk above), and self-published my first novel. Why self publish? Well, agents and editors told me they loved it, but they didn’t know who would publish it because, frankly, it’s a little odd.
The Poppet and the Lune came out May 17th, 2011, on my 26th birthday. No, I haven’t “made it” yet as an author, but, hell, I’m getting really good reviews, I’ve surpassed the infamous “100″ sales marker (as in “most self-published books don’t sell more than 100 copies”), and I’m really proud of the finished product.
Next step, finishing my second novel, The Hierophant.