As a very young boy, I remember watching an episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” on TV. If memory serves correctly, the name of the episode was “An Unlocked Window.” It’s the one where the guy was going around killing nurses. It was the first and only time (that I can recall) that a piece of fiction on television scared the hell out of me. So much so that it stayed with me for all of these years…and started my love affair with the horror genre.

After more than twenty years working as a Court Clerk in the Hennepin County Court System, I am fascinated by all sides of the human condition. I have seen the best and worst people can bring out. I try to incorporate all of these traits into my writing. Whether I’m writing a thriller, horror, mainstream, or humor, my goal is to tell an entertaining story with characters that will stay with you long after you put the book or magazine down.

Until my final quarter at the University of Minnesota, I was a journalism major. At the time that I was registering for classes, I thought that I had another quarter to go before I could graduate. Looking over at what prerequisites I had left, I realized that if I switched majors I could graduate that quarter. I graduated with a B.A. in Speech-Communications. Granted, to most people a journalism major looks more impressive than a speech/communications major, but I was young and I wanted out. I have no regrets.

After college, it took almost five years for me to pick up a book and read for pleasure, and ten years to actually sit down and write for the pure satisfaction of writing. Like so many writers, writing is not a choice, but a necessity. It just took me a while to realize that. Fortunately, the lapse was temporary.

Since then I have taken writing classes at The Loft and other writing programs, but the most helpful experiences are the two writing groups that I belong to: the minneapolis writers workshop, and the southside writers group. And of course — to keep writing.