"Having written business news, narrative essays, lifestyle features, short stories, and novels for the last twenty years—all for the reading public—I’m expert in narration, character development, and figurative writing.

I’ve written for The Newark Star-Ledger, The Providence Journal, Orlando Sentinel, New York Daily News, Fairfax Times, Utne Reader, Twin Cities Business Monthly, and the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

I've authored four novels, including a children’s book (Penguin 2008), won the 2009 Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers and was shortlisted for Black History Month by USA Today.

My other book publishers include the University of Wisconsin/Cornerstone Press, Stephen F. Austin State University Press, and West Virginia University Press.

My short stories have appeared in more than a hundred literary magazines, including the North American Review, The Kenyon Review, and The Iowa Review. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize, "The Scratchboard Project" won an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories (2007).

I taught composition and grammar at Seminole State College of Florida and tutored essay writing for SMARTHINKING, Inc.

I hold a BA in fine arts from George Mason University and an MFA in creative/fiction writing from the University of Central Florida." less...