I've had varying career aspirations since I was a kid - stunt man, basketball shoe designer, the next baritone for Boyz II Men - all of which faded with age. Writing was the only thing that stayed with me, and I lived that life until my late 20's. I traveled as much as possible, wrote every night, and counted my rejections (along with 2 publications and 2 awards). I worked any job that sounded cool and paid the rent (truck driver, fishing dock laborer in Boston, bike messenger, butcher, hotel doorman, fiction teacher).