Published Works | O-blog-atory Ramblings
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The Basics
Born in Houston, Texas
Current Residence: Fort Collins, CO
For something a little more interesting, please direct your attention to the Q&A session on the right side of the page.
Q&A
Q: Where were you born?
A: Houston, TX.
Q: Sorry about that.
A: Why? I only spent a few years there, though I still haven't eliminated my use of "ya'll." It comes out from time to time. Then the gig is always up. But, from what I remember, Texas wasn't so bad. I remember the beach and the jellyfish.
Q: So, you moved where?
A: A town on the Western Slope of Colorado called Silt. Yep, I lived in "Mud," Colorado. All joking aside, Silt was a marvelous little town. I grew up on a farm--chickens, horses, cows, the whole shabang. I even had a pony.
Q: Every little girl's dream.
A: Well, sort of. He was a Shetland, all black. I named him Cherokee Chief. He was meaner than a stinging scorpion, but by God he was mine.
Q: Ok, so farm life, pony, what then?
A: We moved to Denver. Talk about culture shock. In Silt we had to drive 50 miles to the nearest McDonald's. In Denver, you couldn't throw a rock without hitting one. And there was more: Taco Bell, Wendy's, Burger King. What was a girl to do?
Q: Sounds heavenly. Seriously.
A: And malls. And roller coasters; REAL honest to God roller coasters.
Q: Moving on. How was school? New city, new friends . . .
A: Gradeschool was great. I met my good, dear friend (Lobat) who had been born in Iran. As a kid, we don't know much about the big, wide world. I certainly wasn't reading about the Iranian hostage situation or how the monarchy was overthrown. When you're a kid, you think, "Oh, hey, she has a different name, she has this exotic black hair and these dark brown eyes and her house always smells like patchouli, she always wins at farting contests and loves spaghetti and Elvira. What's not to love?"
Q: Farting contests?
A: She'll deny it, but give her a bunch of parmesan cheese and that's the end of it.
Q: After grade school?
A: I entered into the first level of Hell. Junior high was torture. Maybe it was like that for everyone. I was too pale, too tall, too freckly and my mom didn't buy me a bra until I was almost 14. What do you do when the cute guy sitting behind you goes to snap your bra strap? Well, you do nothing if you don't have a bra. That was just the beginning.
Q: So, you were teased?
A: And bullied and tormented. I'll never forget the jerks. How pathetic is that? What can you do? You make voodoo paper dolls, try to conjure up a hex or two, make multiple attempts to become invisible. Usually, you learn to avoid the conflict.
Q: And high school?
A: Well, as a sophomore I was heavy into punk rock, the "waver" movement, the "deathrocker" phase. Goths think they started the whole "dress in black and worship Anne Rice" thing, but it was really the deathrockers. I had fun with that for about a year then I met "normal" friends who did "normal" things (like drink, try cigarettes, make out with guys at parties, you know the type). And there I was, this normal chick.
Q: Any jobs during those years?
A: Casa Bonita.
Q: The Casa Bonita? As shown on South Park?
A: The one and only. Great place to work. There were hundreds of us--high school and college kids--and I worked back in the kitchen with my friends. The customers would be lined up out the door and we would be slopping enchiladas on a plate and pushing it out a window. But, we sang, too.
Q: You sang?
A: In the kitchen. We all sang together. You know that moment in Almost Famous where they all break out into Tiny Dancer? That was us, only it happened every night. Hotel California. You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'. She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean, she was the best damn woman that I've ever seen. Ahh yes.
Q: Any other high school experiences? good, bad, ugly?
A: I was in band. I was an ultra nerd. I played Bass Clarinet. You know how heavy those things are? Having to drag that sucker to and from school every day (at least until I got a car) was highly taxing. But, our band rocked. We were a cool bad. We were one of the top three ensembles in the nation at the time. So, they invited us to Carnegie Hall.
Q: Wow, Carnegie Hall. How old were?
A: 17. The class did some fundraising to pay for the tickets and hotel accomodations. I did my own thing.
Q: Casa Bonita.
A: You can punch out any time you like, but you can never leave.
Q: Cute. Ok, so high school comes and goes. You graduate.
A: I was dead center of the class. I had a perfect "C" grade point average. But, I made it through. I never pushed myself in high school.
Q: Then there was college?
A: 10 years later, sure. I had all kinds of fun jobs during those 10 years: liquor store clerk, quality assurance monitor for a telemarketing firm that sold cable channels, tech support. I sold roses for a whole night.
Q: A whole night?
A: Yeah, my boss would drive me to these dive bars and tell me, "go in and sell roses." Some 65 year old man asked me to marry him and a stripper asked if I had any crank. I guess I'm just not cut out for the hardcore party crowd.
Q: But, you made it through undergrad?
A: Sort of. I quit for a few years because the finances just weren't there. That's when I stumbled into some freelance work at White Wolf publications.
Q: Vampires? Werewolves? LARP?
A: I'm not a LARPER, but the fantasies are there. I think all nerd girls dream of appearing in the woods during a big ole LARP session and winning the hearts of warriors and sorcerers alike.
Q: Like Xena.
A: More like Medea. Give me a chariot pulled by dragons and watch Athens burn. To answer the writing question--I wrote for the Everquest line. I was going through a hard time with a really bad (failed) relationship and instead of getting hooked on drugs or alcohol, I turned to EQ. My writing got me noticed and I was given the opportunity to write a 400 word project (at 4 cents a word). That turned into a 2000 word project, then an 8000 word project and soon I was turning in projects up to 35,000 words. I also had the pleasure of editing work that was unfit for publication and "prettying it up."
Q: Sounds like a dream come true for a (ahem) self-proclaimed nerd.
A: It was, absolutely. But, after a few years I realized that all my work was the same. I wasn't progressing as a writer. I was spinning my wheels. I had to humble myself and get back to school. I needed a mentor, a damn good one, and I found her at The University of Colorado at Denver. Jennifer Davis is the bee's knees. Look her up. Her latest collection of short stories has a toilet paper doily on it. How cool is that?
Q: Uhhh . . .
A: I thought it rocked.
Q: So, the University of Colorado at Denver?
A: Great program. Something happened when I hit college. I suddenly cared about my GPA. I graduated with a 3.5 GPA.
Q: Nice! How about the writing?
A: I got my first short story published--a genre piece. Imagine that? The Copper Nickel is a great lit-mag and there I was, me and my genre piece, rubbing elbows with all the literary writers. I even won grand prize for best piece that year. Take that, literary snobs.
Q: Literary snobs?
A: Don't get me started. In grad school we get lengthy sermons about the evils of genre.
Q: Ahh! Grad school?
A: Yes, grad school. I'm currently earning my MFA in creative writing (fiction) at Colorado State University. Good program. I'm in a great group of writers.
Q: A new playing field, eh?
A: Absolutely. You come from undergrad thinking, "I'm the cat's pajamas, watch out!" And you realize you're in a room full of writers who are just as hungry as you are, just as in love with the magic of the written word. It's glorious.
Q: Wow, busy life? What about family? Romance? Any of that going on?
A: Yep. During my last two years in undergrad, I met a man, got pregnant 5 months later. Talk about awkward timing.
Q: Yikes?
A: Naw. It all worked out. I was in class up to my due date. I couldn't fit in the desks, but there I was.
Q: Wow, what did your child learn (in utero)?
A: I took a Tolkien class, a class on creative writing POVs, and some Jungian/Freudian dream analysis. Probably scarred her for life, all the talk of Elektra complexes could be my undoing by the time she turns 13.
Q: Baby and school. Seems like a harsh mix.
A: I'm the world's best multi-tasker. When my daughter was born I could hold her on my chest and type at the same time. The rthym would put her to sleep.
Q: Name of your daughter?
A: Emma.
Q: Jane Austen fan?
A: That's part of it. There's more to it. I had the name Emma in the back of my mind, then I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix during my pregnancy. The name of the actress who plays Hermione is Emma. I thought, "There's that name. Hmmm." Later that month (during my Jung/Freud dream class), the teacher informed us that Jung's wife was named Emma. Given the fact that I had the academic hots for Jung, I thought, "This is meant to be." It was synchronicity. I think Jung, of all people, would appreciate that.
Q: How goes the writing now?
A: It's going well. I had another short (flash) story published in Midnight Screaming. I'm working on a novel and trying to polish up my short stories for the MFA thesis. I have a few pieces floating around out there in submission land. Maybe I'll get a bite.
Q: What's one piece of advice you can give to novice writers?
A: Love it. Do it because you love it. Do it every day. Even if you only get a sentence or two on the page, keep courting that muse. Be willing to fail. Be thick-skinned. Rejection happens. Live with it. And (to steal from Ray Bradbury), feed your muse. Watch television, movies, read poetry, fiction, non-fiction, comic-books, the back of cereal boxes. Stuff yourself and you'll always be one step ahead of writer's block.