I live in Tucson, Arizona with my wife Kellie and our three children. My wife is a wound care nurse, which means she likes looking at open wounds . . . I know, GROSS! I was a high school English teacher for seven years before I transitioned over to Government, Economics, and History. I am a head wrestling coach at a local high school in Tucson AZ. I am also a coach on the football staff at that same high school. I fostered a love of the arts at an early age when I started playing the guitar at the age of seven. My mother encouraged me greatly in my musical endeavors, even getting me up at 5am to practice since I was also busy with church and sports. In fact, I spent my first year at the University of Arizona as a classical guitar performance major.

I have loved action and adventure as well as science fiction and fantasy for as long as I can remember. I grew up watching the original Star Wars movies and Star Trek series. I read The Hobbit at a very early age, loved stories about mythology, and have always had a fascination with the European Middle Ages. As soon as I could, I played Dungeons and Dragons and started reading any Forgotten Realms or Dragon Lance book I could get my hands on. I also read Ursula K Le Guinn's Wizard of Earthsea series, C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, and, of course, J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

I started writing my own fantasy adventures on my grandma's typewriter. Each one she would title, "The Next Great American Novel" and I find myself extremely lucky and blessed that my family encouraged my creativity. It was in college, studying Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Arizona, that I started taking writing seriously and exploring a career as an author. After my first year in music, I found that that was not the path I wanted, but knew I wanted something involving the arts, and so I transitioned to Creative Writing. I actually started writing what would eventually become the Shadow's Fire Trilogy in college.

I am also active at Desert Hope, the church that my family attends. I am very actively involved in the high school ministries and the music ministries. Church and faith are a major part of my family's life and I have tried to implement that influence in my writing.

I am also sincere about fitness and health and I have been a competitive power lifter since high school. I workout as much as I can and try to pass that love on to my students and athletes.

Experience the adventure that fans of Paolini, Tolkien and Martin are enjoying in the Shadow's Fire Trilogy!