A Little Background

The Journey to Publication

I used to draw comics with my little brother. We used to film movies and record songs with a couple of our friends. I blogged a lot, from my own website to MySpace and to Facebook. I was on the newswriting staff in high school, where the teacher would call me Reverend Thomas Jefferson for my op-ed feature articles. I took many writing intensive courses in college because they were kind of easy to me. It seemed only natural that one day, I would eventually set out to write books.

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In the beginning, I had only written novellas, novelettes, short stories and poetry. It was all done in secret, as simply practice for me and me alone. That's all I was attempting when I sat down to write WASHINGTON, nothing more. But something sort of magical sparked on the page. The characters were alive and distinct. The setting was vast and immersive. The plot was unfolding unlike anything else. I was all set to reach out to agents with my manuscript in March 2020. Of course, in those uncertain times with a controversial subject matter, despite many positive and personalized responses, it was ultimately a no. It was especially hard as a healthcare worker on the front lines. But in the end, I just couldn't let this story go. I reached out to charities. I talked to survivors, parents, educators and citizens. I kept on pushing and pushing, and my debut novel had some success by sheer will of force. I also wrote Washington Reunion, the penultimate story in EVERYDAY RAINBOWS.

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Now, I officially enter my first venture into horror. Between sci-fi, fantasy and horror, I always did pick horror as my favorite ever since I was a kid. I have fond memories of visiting the different libraries all around town where some of my recurrent favorites were the Goosebumps series by RL Stine, the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark trilogy by Alvin Schwartz, and local classics Chicken Skin and Obake Files by the late iconic Glen Grant. Throughout my life, I have had experiences I cannot explain, many of which are in this new book. As a healthcare worker surrounded by the sick, hurt and dying, seeing or hearing things is a very common occurrence amongst staff and patients. I did extensive research including talking to experts, interviewing a paranormal investigator as well as a preacher for ninety minutes each, and visiting haunted locations by myself at night with a flashlight. (I don't recommend this.) It grew into my most ambitious work yet, which I am excited to unleash upon the world.

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My first three books, two novels and a story collection, are available to 45000+ retailers, bookstores and libraries including Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Books-A-Million and Waterstones through Lightning Source, and on Amazon in over 170 countries.

WASHINGTON is a former NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project and was crowdfunded through Indiegogo.

The editor that I used has worked with James Dashner (The Maze Runner), Gayle Forman (If I Stay) and Emily XR Pan (The Astonishing Color of After). The cover designer I used has done work for Dean Koontz.

WASHINGTON became a multiple award winner and bestseller, peaking at #1, #6 and #11 across three categories on Amazon.

WASHINGTON was recently featured on Associated Press.

SMILING FACELESS WOMAN was recently featured by Fangoria Magazine.