Where are you from and where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. It was a great place to be a kid, but I got restless in high school and wanted to explore the wider world. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to live and work around the U.S. and in Germany and Austria, including over two decades in Washington, DC. A couple of years ago, however, I moved back closer to my roots, and am now happily ensconced in Seattle, WA.
What are some of your hobbies?
I’ve become a bit obsessed with crochet recently. My mom taught all of us kids to knit when we were young, and that’s what I turned to during the anxiety-ridden COVID pandemic a few years ago. More recently I asked my sister to teach me crochet, and that’s what I turn to now when I’m feeling stressed (or curious, or both). I’ve started focusing on making skulls, fish, and mice, but I like deviating from those bases to create new creatures as well (picture attached).
What are some books or authors that have significantly influenced your work?
I often describe my work as the secret love child of Margaret Atwood and Douglas Adams. At first I tried to downplay the Adams side of the lineage, because both speculative fiction and humor have long been pigeonholed, regarded as lesser-than. But what is it we turn to when we want to be transported and entertained? Fortunately, genre boundaries are more porous now, with “serious” literary writers and readers contemplating and valuing the same kinds of “what-ifs” that have always sparked speculative fiction. I welcome all!
How do you keep yourself motivated and inspired as a literary professional?
This is something I spend a lot of time thinking (read: fretting) about. Since my last book came out (City of Dancing Gargoyles, Santa Fe Writers Project, 2024), I haven’t really latched on to my next big project yet. For me, the key is to stay in a creative mindset. Crocheting helps with that, as does teaching. I get excited dreaming up new courses, because I wind up diving back into work that inspires me, and I get to introduce it to new readers. I like to showcase living writers in my classes, because it’s important for me (and my students) to remember that literature isn’t just some untouchable canonical artform trapped in amber; it’s something that lives and breathes and changes continually—something we’re all part of.
Who are you trying to connect with by teaching this class, A Little Weird Goes a Long Way: Generating New Speculative Fiction Stories?
My target audience for the class is anyone who is willing to let loose and get a little weird on the page. I don’t expect people to come in with a lot of experience in scifi and fantasy—in fact I encourage newcomers to try it out! I felt like such an outsider when I first started going to cons (conventions), because a lot of the panels just seemed like people swapping titles of books I’d never read. Even though I liked science fiction, I didn’t feel like I belonged there at all because I wasn’t already on the inside. I’ve gotten more comfortable at cons since then, but that early experience still shapes my approach to teaching: I want to welcome people on the outside and provide a path for them into speculative fiction.
What do you wish you knew when you first started your journey in literature?
When I first started submitting, each rejection was a blow. I’d go back to the piece and ask myself what I’d done wrong. But over the years I’ve developed quite a thick skin, and I’ve learned that publication is not so much about figuring out how to write what publishers want as it is about figuring out how to write the most complete version of your intentions, then find the markets that vibe with your work. There are so many litmags and publishers out there now, and so many opportunities to find your readers. As a fiction editor at Barrelhouse, I can attest that the stories that make an impression are usually the confidently strange ones, rather than the ones that are trying to follow some formula or replicate someone else’s voice. So just be yourself on the page, then go out and be part of the literary community so you can find your kindred spirits.
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+