Menu
I began writing my first fantasy novel in college, but in the way of these things, it was set aside as life intervened. As time went on, I realized my love of writing and telling stories wasn’t going to just slink quietly into the night. The drive to write came back full force in the early 2000s, at which point I dedicated myself to the craft, writing several novels and learning under the guidance of writers like Nancy Kress, Joe Haldeman, Tim Powers, Holly Black, Michael Swanwick, Kij Johnson, and many more.
Since then, I’ve more than ten novels and several dozen short stories. I was born in Wisconsin and, beyond a five-year stint in Southern California, have been living here my whole life.
My novels have been published in over a dozen countries and translated into more than six languages. They have garnered many accolades and most anticipated lists, including:
I give talks on writing and am available to present them to any size audience. I’m comfortable presenting to a small crowd or a packed room. I’m a long-time speaker at the Gen Con Writer’s Symposium. I’ve also given talks at the League of Utah Writers Conference, the UW Madison Writers’ Institute, various libraries, including the Macmillan Memorial Library, and more.
I have nine pre-made presentations in my Mastering Fiction series, from the structure of scenes to plotting and brainstorming techniques to using pattern recognition to enhance your fiction. The topics are ones that I felt were both crucial skills for the writer and underserved in the market. They’re planned as 50 minutes each, with roughly 40 minutes of presentation and 10 minutes of question and answers, but I’m happy to present at different lengths, with adjustment to the topics if given enough lead time to prepare. Just let me know what changes you’d like to see and I’d be happy to work with you.
For more information, view my Talks Page.
I’ve got several new projects that will be published in the next few years. A DESERT TORN ASUNDER, the final installment in The Song of the Shattered Sands series, is set to be released in the summer of 2021. ABSYNTHE is a new decopunk novel set to come out late in 2021 from DAW Books.
As for my next projects, I have two currently in the works. The first, THE DAYS OF DUST AND ASH, is the story of a broken world, a world where once-great cities have been reduced to isolated pockets, enclaves that fight to survive against a semi-sentient plague known as the ash. Ash devours the landscape, remaking it in its own horrific image. What’s worse, it creates demons, twisted creatures born from the fears of the humans who have survived.
The second upcoming project, THE PRECIPICE TRILOGY, is a new epic fantasy project that features two unlikely heroes: a thief and an imperial inquisitor who together must unlock the mystery behind the strange, magical forest that are plaguing the forests and the mountains they call home.
