Q: Where are you from and where did you grow up?
I am from the Americas: born in Canada, raised there and also in Venezuela, Colombia and the United States. Found adulthood in the West and have lived ever since in Utah, Washington, Alaska and Oregon.
Q: Have you ever struggled to write something or are there certain genres or forms of writing you just don’t like or feel confident in?
My journalism career gave me lots of opportunities to struggle with writing. The most difficult writing I ever did was interviewing convicted pedophiles for a story that would help parents better protect their children. Asking the questions, learning about the men and the crimes they had committed and hearing the smart advice they had for others, then crafting a thing that was useful to readers. I think there’s real value in working through challenges, testing yourself in different genres, surprising yourself with the muscles that kind of challenge can build.
Q: What’s the biggest literary project you’ve ever taken on and what did you learn from it?
The literary thriller I am just finishing is the biggest project. While it comes in at 75,000 words, average for a novel, it’s been rewritten three times and these rewrites amounted to completely new versions. The first version I wrote in first person and then a casual conversation with another very successful author, made me realize the book would be better in the third person. You can’t just do a find-and-replace on pronouns. Every page, every quiet moment is touched by that kind of revision. And when I finished it, what it revealed was a massive problem with a key character, how he arrived in the story and what he did once he got there. I wrote that book three times: so 225,000 words, written to deliver 75,000. It still needs a last polish before sending it to my publisher. It remains an average-sized novel, but to me it feels enormous.
What I learned from this is that every story has its own creative rhythm. Maybe it’ll be done in a year. Maybe it will take three. Be in the book deeply. Be with what’s on the page, not what you wish was on the page.
Q: What are some books and authors that have significantly influenced your work?
For sheer joy of language, Tom Robbins is my go-to guy. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Skinny Legs and All. In the end these books really aren’t about anything but the journey. I love how Robbins went all in on whimsy. For genius writing where almost everything does double duty, John le Carré’s spy novels are second to none. He’ll write a physical description of the character and somehow you know the character’s personality. Look at this sentence, from Smiley’s People: “Her grey hair was gathered in a bun behind her, but there remained one sprightly forelock that flopped over her brow to the rhythm of her waddle.” You see her and you start to know her all in one sentence. I always go back to Ursula LeGuin’s five Earth Sea novels. I love them for sense of place so much. That world is real to me. The author who made me want to be a writer: Edward Abbey. His Desert Solitaire and The Monkey Wrench Gang are falling apart on my bookshelf.
Q: How do you keep yourself motivated and inspired as a literary professional?
I have a dance practice I do two or three times a week and at my instructor’s studio, there are inspiring thoughts on the walls. I love it when I’m dancing and look up to see the words: If you can’t stop thinking about it, don’t stop working for it. Every time I notice that, especially when I’m infused with dance energy, I want to trot right back to my computer. Having a regular physical practice like dancing has made a significant difference to my writing practice.
Q: Can you share an example of how your experience shapes the way you teach?
Imagine being 13 years old and walking into a classroom in a foreign country (Venezuela in my case). You can barely speak the language. You don’t know anyone. You feel weird and out of place. And somebody expects you to learn something? As the person leading a workshop, I know my own story but I don’t know yours. I want to make an open space where the extroverts can work their magic and the introverts can find their sweet spot and sometimes, when the energy is right, we make something together that we couldn’t have done apart.
Q: What advice would you give someone who is hesitant about taking a literature or writing course (with you or anyone!)?
A professor whose classes I’d taken over two or three semesters once stopped me when I said that I wanted to be a writer some day. She said: “Are you writing?” I nodded. She said: “Right now, in this moment, you are a writer.” I’m passing that on. You are a writer. You belong in the club. And hanging out with your fellow writers, I promise you, that’s a good way to continue building your writing life.
Upcoming classes you might enjoy
Nap-a-thon: a fundraiser for people who are tired. Which, statistically, is everyone.
Oct 1-31.
A 4-week writing accountability and co-working group to help you make real, steady progress on your writing.
Wednesdays 3-4:30 pm | In person or online | Next cohort starts Nov 4, facilitated by Daryll Lynne Evans | Age 16+
A quarterly journaling workshop that takes you deeper into your thoughts and feelings through grounding, prompts, and a community that holds space for whatever shows up on the page.
Sundays, Nov 8, Feb 14, May 2, 3-5 pm | In-person and online | Age 16+
Learn more! Writing Into Yourself: A Seasonal Journaling Series
Share your words in sweet community at our monthly open mic emceed by spoken word poet Jorah LaFleur.
Second Thursdays, September through June | Age 14+ | Next open mic: Nov 12
Demystifying the process of bringing your story to the page in this full day craft intensive with Patricia Crisafulli.
Nov 21 | Ages 18+
The Oregon Author Series brings a visiting Oregon writer into our space for an afternoon of live conversation: about their book, their process, and the stubborn, beautiful work of making something true on the page.
Dec 13, 2026; March 14, June 13, 2027 | 4-6 pm
Ages 16+