Prose
As a young kid I found writing to be an outlet for my creativity. It became my way of "playing pretend" as an adult. I have written and been an avid reader since I was very young. However it is only in the last few years that I have been able to look critically at the craft of writing and improve my prose. There were much more opportunities for me to expand on my poetry in high school, and it wasn't until college that I was able to receive any formal training in prose writing. Everything I learned and utilized prior was picked up through reading, and analyzing the components that made up my favorite author's styles.
I write in a variety of genres, always with a touch of writing the obscene or obscure. I write to provoke strong emotional feelings in my readers; be they disgust, sorrow, or hope. I enjoy writing in a way that only challenges and subverts tropes within fiction, but also challenges the reader's views of the world-- and perhaps in doing so expands these views. I prefer to write characters whose struggles are simultaneously internal and external, and settings that feel very real and realistic. I aim to put my reader into the setting entirely, to make them experience the writing, rather than just reading it.
Short Stories
I have yet to publish any of my short stories, though I have submitted a few to various literary magazines and await responses. Short story was always a form I struggled with understanding how to write when I was younger. In college I learned a better way to grasp the basics of the short story and have since found it to be a form of prose that is fun to work with. The short length providing time to play with human though in a way that is sometimes difficult to do in longer novels.
Black Gold
Short Story, submitted for publication and awaiting response.
A story about a young man and his battle with the morals of organ harvesting as a viable career choice.
Undercurrent
Short Story, work in progress.
A story about returning to home, expectations, and realizations.
Twice Fired
Short Story, submitted for publication and awaiting response
A story about dealing with lost love and the displacement of people in society.
Novel Excerpts and Chapters
I have always been keen on being an author with several novels published. I like the action and world building that a novel provides both to its author and to its reader. While I have several novels (and one novella) I am currently working on, I have only provided excerpts of the few I felt to be most indicative of my writing.
Chapter 1: Black Dragonfish
A comedic Sci-Fi genre novel that focuses on one computer programs journey to become a whole entity, and find purpose in life.
Excerpt: Untitled.
A novel exploring the themes of family in a violent Urban American setting. This novel inspired and is preceded by the short story "Twice Fired" listed above.
Excerpt: Whirling Dervishes
A dramatic novella about growing up in suburban Missouri while challenging the ideas of gender and sexual stereotypes.