I believe fate drew me to the macabre. Growing up, I lived on a street that abutted a sprawling cemetery, which provided not only a venue for daring exploration but also a football “field”–complete with tombstone end-zone markers–for the neighborhood children. Episodes of Scooby-Doo, games of Clue, the terror tales of Edgar Allan Poe all formed early influences; later, the discovery of the books and films of Stephen King and Clive Barker permanently imprinted my imagination. In 2003, I earned a Ph.D. in English from NYU, but after a decade-long stint in the college classroom, I abandoned the climb of the Ivory Tower to pursue darker constructions. Currently I serve as a health and wellness administrator and head personal trainer at a local YMCA in my native state of New Jersey, but my heart’s work begins each night when I sit down at the computer to write. My fiction, poetry, and nonfiction has been published in various (maga)zines, anthologies, books, and journals (see the Publications page for a complete listing). An unabashed October-lover, I am also the author of the volume Autumn Lauds: Poems for the Halloween Season.