Origin Story

I have been telling stories for as long as I can remember. Although my bio states that I've been writing them since the age of seven, I've been telling stories since I could speak.
Stories were the way I understood the world. I would listen to my grandmother tell stories about The Depression and World War II, I would listen to my mother and father tell stories about their childhoods, and I would listen to my friends tell stories about their lives and families.
Making up stories was a form of entertainment when I was little. My grandmother would tell me scary stories. My best friend had me convinced that the concrete bear in the backyard came to life every night (yeah-I'm gonna use that one for sure).
It guess my love just stemmed from there.
I remember being in 3rd grade and standing on a concrete planter that surrounded a tree at recess telling scary stories to other kids. The stories would always involve a loud BOO or YYYOOOOWWW! at the end to add emphasis and the kids would always scream. I loved the feeling I got when I told stories.
I, like so many others, wanted to write a book when I grew up. Throughout college I kept a journal of some sort with me at all times, and although some good ideas for stories got started in those journals, they are mostly filled with morbid poetry about the problems of youth-acne, love gone wrong, parental pressures, etc.
After college my dream stayed alive, but forced waaay back by life stuff-bills, work, etc.
In December 2001 I was attending graduate school. As we all remember it was a turbulent time. I was in the middle of writing my final papers, and I stopped.
I made a deal with myself-if I quit grad school it will be to write a book and finish it. Write several hundred pages for myself rather than for professors. I gave myself one year to complete the book.
In December 2002, over thirty years after telling stories on the concrete planter, I finished The Skater Chronicles. It's a first book, but with all the errors and mistakes I still look back and love it because it exists. I've rewritten it several times since so It's more of the vision I originally had.
Many projects have followed. The more I write the more read, and the more I read the more I realize what awesome talent is out there. It's great to read something that blows my mind. There's room for all the voices in the world.