Behind the work.

A lot of my childhood was spent outside with my brother: exploring the woods, making up worlds, and turning sticks into swords. Later, we would take a telescope into the backyard and look at the Moon and planets. I still love that feeling of getting absorbed in something bigger than the day in front of you.

Writing came first. As a kid, I made up superheroes, including a superdog. Those stories gave me a place to imagine what was possible. Poetry and short fiction became a way to work through things I didn’t always know how to say out loud. Performance followed, and eventually that took me onto film sets.

Film gave me another way to tell a story, and a whole crew to make it with. I enjoy working through a scene with actors, planning a shot, and watching the pieces come together. First assistant directing asks something different of me: keeping people informed, solving problems, and helping a crew get through a demanding day. Both sides of the work have shaped how I collaborate.

Why I write.

Smiley, first published as No Longer a Kid, takes its name from a nickname my grandmother gave me. It’s an early collection about growing up, family, and finding my own voice. The Sword and the Pen brings together poetry and eight short stories, with more room for questions about grief, responsibility, self-worth, and how people change.

I’m drawn to imperfect people trying to do better. Sometimes that becomes a personal poem; sometimes it takes the distance of fiction to see a question clearly. I want the work to be honest enough that someone else can recognize a little of their own experience in it.

In 2025, I founded the Atlas Screenplay Competition, which operated that year and is currently inactive. I’m now based in Houston, continuing my film work and writing The Danubian Emperor, a historical-fiction trilogy. I’m keeping the details close while it takes shape.