Writer & artist

My Story

Storytelling and visual art converged in stage design.

Visual art was my first love, but at age twelve I discovered the theatre—where stories came alive.

On my first day at the University of Tennessee, I learned I could do both. I could be a scenery and lighting designer for the stage. After a transfer to SUNY Purchase, I graduated with a BFA in Theatre Design & Technology and headed off into the working world.

However, there was another world drawing me. I eventually left NYC for full-time ministry, spending much of the following thirteen years overseas. When I returned to the US, I also returned to the arts, painting murals and designing scenery and lighting for several theatre companies.

The next move was a decade-plus of cubical work and caregiving. During this period, I dropped my lifetime of painting and picked up the historical fiction idea I’d been resisting since the ‘90s. In the wee hours, I hammered out my first novel. Farewell, O Syria is in the final stages of preparation, on target for publishing in late 2026.

After a dozen years away from painting, I dug out a small studio space to spend my mornings focused on writing and my afternoons exploring fine art. A recent move promises to open up a larger studio for painting, printmaking, and wherever that path leads.

Now storytelling and visual art diverge, but spring from the same source.

My theatre and travel experiences have given me a passion for stories and environments set in faraway places.

My visual art springs from my fascination with history and the way built spaces and natural environments echo the memories of what has gone before; the layers that record and preserve, bursting with the silent voices of living and dying throughout time.

My new novel is set in Roman Syria and Sassanid Persia during Late Antiquity.