Earendar. It was the name my high school self gave my imaginary character in Tolkien’s universe. He was a wizard-warrior who came from Valinor to Middle Earth to reclaim the silmarils and…
And then I made the mistake of telling my friends about him. That’s when my high school nickname became “Earendar the Purple.” What better nickname for a trumpet-playing band nerd who also performed as a juggler in the circus company?
Some people are hopeless romantics. I’m hopelessly epic. I know the rugged gentleman you see pictured in this photo might tempt you to think otherwise, but you have no idea how many times I was tempted to insert a black and white selfie of me staring artistically into the camera.
Fortunately for all parties involved, my wife knows when to laugh at me for taking myself too seriously.
Although some of my favorite books are enormous tomes of speculative fiction - The Kingkiller Chronicle, LOTR, Lightbringer - my fiction writing is also influenced by my time working with students who didn’t like to read. Whether it was because they had dyslexia, their first language was Spanish, or they just hadn’t found a book they liked, volumes like the ones I named above would instantly turn those students away because of their sheer length.
But then I discovered Nnedi Okorafor’s “Binti.” It’s a 92-page, science fiction novella that the tenth grade class I read it with loved. It was accessible to them, and we ended up talking about it all year, even though we finished it by the end of September.
So even though I aspire to write genuine second world, speculative fiction, I want to worldbuild without wasting words. I want my work to appeal even to someone who hasn’t yet discovered their reading selves. If you want to see what I’m working on, including my main project, She is Not the Villain, check out my works in progress using the link above. You can also connect with me on Twitter (link below).
Also worth knowing
I was born and raised in Cleveland before the Cavaliers won the national championship.
I attended private school from kindergarten through college, and I fully understand how little credibility that gives me.
I've called Cleveland, Nashville, and Houston home, but I married my wife in Baltimore.
We - and our toddler - live there now. Happily.