I was born in eastern Washington State when Kennewick was still a relatively quaintly populated area rather than the booming metropolis the area has become; therefore, I was there when the fields and canyons still held secrets and the orchards could still be run through at night without fear of really getting shot. At nineteen, I went away to school at Pacific Lutheran University to study a lot of things, finally ending up with an English degree and a minor in Theatre. Landed a copywriting job at the Seattle DJC just after graduating and thought I was about to lead the life I always wanted: using my degree (sort of) in a job by day and writing fiction by night. In those days, I drank a lot of Carlo Rossi and didn’t write much fiction.

In 2009, I moved to South Korea to teach English and wrote my first novel, The Life of Failure McFadden. Upon returning from South Korea, I found myself entering into the world of restaurants. I worked on a second novel and served Italian food Seattle. I developed a love for wine and decided to move to Florence, Italy to learn study wine studies for seven months. I returned in 2015 and eventually partnered up and opened Brunello Ristorante in the north part of Seattle. I spent six wonderful years there before making my exit.

Taking some time off after Brunello, I wrote my upcoming novel, Occhi Belli—soon to be published June 4th by The Wild Rose Press. Currently, I’m opening up my own restaurant, eponymously called Occhi Belli in the heart of the Wallingford neighborhood in Seattle.