Upstate New York is where I grew up, and I really miss seasons, especially autumn. But my dream is to get into the screenwriting industry, and LA is where you have to be to do that. So here I am. (By the way, when I say upstate, I don't mean Buffalo, I mean way, way upstate. Closest city: Ottawa, Canada. Yes, the capital of another country.) My parents still live up there; they don't entirely approve of my pursuing this kind of career, so even though we keep in touch, we're not quite as close as we used to be, sadly. I also have a sister who's a college freshman in Boston.

I love taking long walks at night in places with tall trees; they remind me of home. I'm also a fan of board games, cats, and cuddling (mainly with girls, but there are a few guys who might qualify). I'm a solid supporter of the universal legalization of gay marriage. I'm a fanatic about saving water and energy, and recycling. I never drive when I can walk. When there's a spider or insect in the house, I'm the one who says, "Don't kill it," and then traps it and releases it into the wild. I often have to remind myself that sometimes the right thing to do just isn't clear, and may never be, so I just have to try my best.

Many of my friends say I have the most patience of anyone they've met. The truth: I hate being patient with a passion, but often there's no better choice. I also hate being the leader of any type of project or group, but I often end up being just that (usually because no one else will). I used to be very political, but after the 2004 presidential election, I lost most of my enthusiasm for the whole thing.

No matter how depressed i get, I make a conscious effort to stay optimistic in public. If I need comforting, I'll say so, but otherwise, I feel I have a responsibility to bring positivity to the people around me.

Random fact: when I was five, I lived in China for ten months.

I'm moving from job to job, paying the bills while finding opportunities to pitch the screenplays I've written to producers and studio execs. Mostly I like to write murder mysteries, but I've also dabbled in suspense, horror, psychological thriller, fantasy, and road trip drama. I'm never not writing.

Last summer I directed a play, a murder mystery dessert theatre. It was for a fundraiser at my church, the fifth one I've done so far. Like I said, I love writing murder mysteries, as well as reading them (went through all of Agatha Christie's books in high school). In college, I thought playwriting would be my career; that was my major. But in my senior year, I decided to pursue screenwriting instead. What specifically brought me to California was Cal State Northridge's grad program in screenwriting. I graduated in 2009.

My social life is very spontaneous; often a friend will suggest we do something on a certain day, and if I'm free, I join in. Every Sunday evening (except in the summer), I go to a PARC meeting; PARC stands for PAuse, Reflect Connect, the valley's Unitarian Universalist young adult group. Unitarian Universalists, or UUs, have seven principles which they all believe in (such as the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and that everyone has the right to follow their own spiritual path); apart from those principles, what members believe and choose to do spiritually is totally up to them. I was raised UU, and in the congregations I've been a part of, there have been Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Pagans, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, and all sorts of others. I used to identify as agnostic, but now I'm not sure. Lately I've been exploring Wicca, a form of Paganism. The reason I'm drawn to it may have something to do with the fact that Halloween is my favorite holiday, and it originated with the Celtic holiday Samhain (points to anyone who knows how it's really pronounced).

-Martial arts. I've been studying since the age of eight; I have a second-degree black belt in Kai Sho Do (a blend of Kung Fu and Karate). I teach it whenever I get the chance.

-Math. I considered becoming a math major in college, but decided to pursue writing instead.

-Directing. I've directed several plays, as well as a 35-minute supernatural thriller film a couple years ago, called "Night Owl".

-Singing, or so people tell me.

Okay, bragging done. For now.

I'm short... unless I'm working with kids... under 12.

It's easier to list authors than books, so:
Agatha Christie
Lloyd Alexander
Vonda N. McIntyre
Neil Gaiman
Tamora Pierce
J. R. R. Tolkien
Philip Pullman
J. K. Rowling
Suzanne Collins
and many others.
I also enjoy Peanuts, Garfield, Foxtrot, and Calvin & Hobbes.
And also Pronoia by Robert Brezsny.

Movies:
Charade
Paycheck
The Dark Crystal
Identity
Ice Age
The Karate Kid Parts I and II
Ghostbusters II
Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-rabbit
Yojimbo
True Lies
Miyazaki's earlier works

(I'll watch any movie with a twist at the end, even though that doesn't apply to every film on this list.)

TV shows:
Doctor Who
Coupling
Sherlock
Star Trek (Original Series & Next Generation)
Mission: Immpossible
The Mentalist
Kung Fu
Poirot
Press Gang
Newsroom
The Daily Show
Once Upon a Time
anything hosted by Derren Brown

I like a lot of different kinds of music, particularly pop and alternative rock, but I'm bad at remembering which artist created which song. I'm a fan of Simon & Garfunkel, Diana Ross, and Peter, Paul, & Mary. I also like older music such as Gustav Holst's "Mars" and Igor Stravinsky's "The Firebird". I can play "The Pink Panther", "Mission: Impossible", "Casino Royale", "Indiana Jones", "Jurassic Park", and John Carpenter's "Halloween" theme on the piano.

-contact lenses or glasses (I have 20/400 vision)
-murder mysteries
-music
-air conditioning or, at the very least, fans (snow works, too)
-a quiet neighborhood to walk around in and think
-games

-Ideas for dozens of stories.
-What we'll do at the next rehearsal.
-Whether I'm making enough money to live on.
-When I can adopt a cat.
-How long I'll live here.
-How long I'll have to wait before I'm in a relationship again.
-Whether my writing is really that great, and if it is, why I haven't broken into the business yet.

breathing a sigh of relief that I don't have to get up at 5am the next morning. (Total night owl, but if the job requires me to get up early, that's what's going to happen.)

Verbal abuse (not physical) runs in my family. Like my dad and everyone on my dad's side of the family, I have a very, very powerful voice. About a decade ago I yelled at one of my karate students, a 6-year-old. From that point on, whenever he saw me, he looked terrified. I haven't yelled at anyone since, but whenever I work with kids, I'm very conscious of how I speak to them. I try to use my voice for other things like singing and dramatic reading. I've considered going into voice acting, but I have no idea how to go about that.

you've made it this far and you want to know more.