Pretty dorky picture. I believe I was 19 here. I am holding the first copy of my first novel, Intended Extinction. The first edition. And what a train wreck it was. But you never forget holding your first book. Since then I have updated the novel and have moved on from my pre-college-level writing, but it still holds a special place in my heart. It reminds me of the pure creativity and wonder we can all have before we're inundated with training and school and rights and wrongs. Here I was so happy just to have created something. I also drew the cover with crayon . . . and you can definitely tell.

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I grew up in Utah. I love it here. Living at the base of a mountain range is quite eye-opening if you've never seen the Rockies. I take it for granted. I began writing in elementary school. I wrote stories of school field trips to the Great Salt Lake, riffs on The Phantom Tollbooth and Dragonball Z. I still remember that rough, gray lined paper we used. 

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I started seriously writing in my sophomore year of High School. My teacher, Mrs. Loveless, asked us to do a year-long assignment called "The Elephant." We were to write a 30-page novel. I was thrilled at the prospect, while the rest of the class groaned. This was where Intended Extinction was born, then called Outbreak. I had printed out little 5x8 copies of Outbreak for the final assignment, ecstatic that I had begun a novel. When summer came, the rest of the class assumedly threw their "elephants" in the trash. I, however, kept writing.

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I spent two years in Minnesota as a missionary. When I returned, I cleaned up Intended Extinction and discovered the kindle. In late 2013, after having enrolled in Utah Valley University to study Creative Writing, and after many unfinished drafts of various other novels and ideas, I was struck with a powerful image of a girl with pink hair punching someone in the face. Stemming from this image, Daughters was born, my second full-length novel. I was so enthralled by the story I finished the first draft (100,000 words) in just four months. In 2016, the same year I graduated with my bachelor's degree, I published the finished story on Amazon and created my first paperback. 

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In late 2016, I was asked by Utah's Snow College to speak about Daughters and other writing topics. I also published a peer-reviewed scholarly article called What Comes After Emotional Abuse: Writing as Remedy in Bernhard Schlink's "The Reader" in UVU's Academic journal for undergraduates, Essais. It was a great year in writing.

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I currently live in Utah with my wife Malena and our daughter Evelyn.

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I write everyday. It is my ultimate passion. I hope I can deliver quality stories for years to come and continually improve my craft. Thank you for your support!