Born and raised in Delaware, I grew up like most kids in my neighborhood. I plodded my way through school, played pick-up games every night and caused trouble on the weekends. It was an endless parade of baseball, football, hockey, hiking and video games. But whenever I was by myself at the end of the day, I loved to write stories for my own amusement. I can't even tell you how early that started because my memory doesn't stretch back that far. Writing was always there.

I focused on developing my skills all throughout high school with journal writing and the school newspaper. At the same time, I was also becoming obsessed with music. I had been spoon fed Aerosmith and Queen from an early age, but everything changed when I discovered Metallica. Just like a great book, heavy metal sparked my imagination, and it quickly became a huge influence on how, what and why I write.

Penn State was my next stop. It was there where I indulged both of my loves to the fullest. Creative writing classes were a given, and my spare time was filled with guerrilla marketing for my favorite bands. I was covering shows, promoting new releases and reviewing music for online zines. All of that added up to a steady diet of free CDs and backstage passes. It was heaven. I got to hang out with dozens of my favorite musicians and spend some quality time in the trenches of the music industry. Trust me when I say I had one hell of a time.

But college couldn't last forever. I graduated in 2005 and got a real job as an advertising copywriter in the suburbs of Philadelphia. That's kept my writing chops lean while I've spent many a late night working on my first novel, Stage. It blends all of my experiences and observations together with concepts drawn from my slightly cynical worldview. I'm excited for you to read it and even more hopeful that you'll love it as much as I loved writing it.

On the more personal side, I live in Royersford, PA, with my wife Jackie. We spend our days off traveling as much as possible, taking thousands of pictures, going to concerts and cooking elaborate meals that occasionally turn out right. I've managed to build up a monstrous CD collection over the years and it's almost at the 2,000 mark. I worship Iron Maiden. I firmly believe Jaws is the greatest film ever made. And I think aged rum is proof there is a god.