Let’s get real.

I’ve been writing since I was old enough to put sentences together. As you might imagine, my early works were nothing short of stupendous. I wrote about axe killers, monster cats, and I think a ghost bridge, or something. They were really good. And they always involved death, or blood, or something unnatural stalking people. My mother was concerned for me. “Why don’t you write about something normal?” she used to ask. “What’s wrong with zombies in a shopping mall?” I’d respond. (I hadn’t actually seen Dawn of the Dead at that point, but I did know that somewhere out in Planet Earth there existed a film with that same plot, so I co-opted it for my own purposes.) I was okay with writing about murders and monsters, even if she wasn’t. To appease her, I tried writing something “normal” and it bored me.

Somewhere around middle school I tapered off the writing. I don’t remember for what reason, though I was likely too busy being traumatized by girls and the sudden realization that I was not at all cool. High school continued this trend, though I did write a pretty kick-ass compare/contrast paper on apples and oranges.

During my tenure at Rowan University, I got back into writing nearly full time. I wrote features during my employment with a local parenting magazine (now defunct) and independently authored an article/interview for Weird NJ Magazine involving a local marketing gimmick named the Uniroyal Tire Woman – a 30-foot statue of a woman modeled after Jackie Kennedy who stands tall on a major road in Blackwood, NJ. I researched its history and interviewed the owner of the auto repair shop where she stood.

I wrote more. I wrote everything. I wrote short fiction, long fiction, screenplays as jokes, screenplays for serious, a couple terrible love notes, multiple terrible “take me back” notes, two best man speeches, and one eulogy.

Who you are is in everything you write, regardless of how fantastic or absurd your adventure becomes. It’s impossible to write something and not inject yourself at least partially into your characters, conflict, or the fear that permeates the small town where your story takes place. Look at Stephen King: He’s been writing about male New England authors overcoming their fears since his career began.

So, having said that, I’m in everything I write. Fully, partially, or minutely. I’m there, somewhere. You should know that if you choose to proceed.

And I hope that you do.