Hi there – it’s so nice to meet you! Here are some fun facts about me:

• I’ve lived in many places, both state-side and in Europe. I’ve been exposed to many cultures, languages and locations over the years, and these have deeply affected my view on the world. I view myself as cosmopolitan and open-minded – ready for new opportunities and experiences.
• Books have been a huge part of my life. My parents were huge readers even before I came along and I was motivated to get in there with them, teaching myself to read at the age of four. I haven’t stopped since. Reading, words, and language have always been important in my life. I hope to never stop learning. Currently I’m learning Spanish, but have studied French and German in the past. I hope to dust those off as well.
• I learned to drive on a stickshift, in the great city of New Orleans. The skills I picked up by doing that made my father nervous, but I have a clean driving record with no tickets or accidents.
• I have no formal art training unless you count elementary school art class and a cartooning class I took later. However, I am an autodidact regarding art and love the modern art world. Some of my favorite artists — Leonardo Drew, Theaster Gates, Yayoi Kusama, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Doris Salcedo, Nick Cave, Richard Long, Kehinde Wiley, Amy Sherald and René Magritte. There are more, but I feel like that list was getting a bit long.
• I have always loved writing, and I am slowly working on building a collection of short stories and finally finishing up a novel I started a bit over a decade ago. I HAVE taken writers’ workshops — I guess I should include that — but have not published any time recently. Working on that…
• I worked in an independent bookstore for about a decade, and in the space of that decade, met many wonderful writers, publishers and artists. I have scheduled events for all sorts of people, from politicians, to children’s book artists. I’ve even rented costumes – Pete the Cat was my favorite!!
• I have survived a lot of things. I do mean a lot of things. Sometimes that makes me a bit of an odd duck. But a lot the time, I think it’s leant me strength to go through so many challenges. I’ve not met a challenge I couldn’t meet.