I’ve been recognized for my writing by being selected through a competitive process to work with an editorial team at Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Macmillan) on my unfinished novel manuscript. I collaborated with Katherine Jacobs, a senior editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux for Young Readers, on my manuscript about an Indian-American girl’s experiences with vitiligo, a condition involving skin pigment loss that is stigmatized in India, and how she copes through creative writing. Usually, a publishing company will not even consider an incomplete manuscript, so I'm incredibly proud and honored that a company like Farrar, Straus and Giroux wanted to work with me when I was only 22 years old before I had even graduated college. While being supervised by Joy Peskin and Simon Boughton, the imprint's editorial directors, I consistently met strict deadlines of submitting 25 pages every two weeks and exceeded editorial expectations. By the end of my three month collaboration, I had produced 140 rough pages, polished 50 revised pages, crafted a plot structure, and drafted a compelling plot pitch/synopsis. Additionally, I collaborated with Conde Nast's chief digital beauty editor, Emily Gaynor, to publish a nonfiction essay titled "Vitiligo: My Journey Through Art" about my personal experiences with vitiligo. My storytelling was so impactful and powerful that the piece was featured as Teen Vogue's central headline for a full week, resulting in full audience engagement. I've recently graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Engish and a Certificate in Creative Writing, and I'd love to be part of a writing group as I complete my novel manuscript and submit my poetry, short stories, and essays to literary magazines and other publications.

I believe in the fantastical.

It started with comic books (12¢/comic). I was taken to places, ideas, heroics, and even though I didn't know it then, I gained knowledge of sequential storytelling. I engulfed Tom Swift, Jr. and other juvenile adventure and science fiction books. I saw just about every Horror/Science Fiction movie that played at the Earl Theater (around the corner) and Saturday mornings/early afternoons B movies on TV. My mother didn't think there was anything "off" by letting me watch 1963's The Haunting or Hitchcock's Psycho. My distrust of birds came from watching a movie about them. Can't put my finger on the title right now. But, birds...ugh. 

I wrote, and I wrote some more over the years. Became the Associate Editor for the DW Clinton newspaper, followed by writing for the school literary and poetry magazines. I wrote the copy for my senior Yearbook in college. A few plays, mini-comics, and other forays beyond what I had to write in school. 

Then, adulting happened.

In 2011, I created two blogs: Bornstoryteller and Tale Spinning. The first was filled with essays about education, the good and the not-so-good, and a few other pertinent subjects. The latter is my Creative Fiction blog, flash friction-filled, poetry-laden, serialized tales, and whatever interested me along the way. My range tore through Fantasy, Horror, Science/Speculative Fiction, Humor, Thrillers, and Crime. I dabbled in various styles, having fun with Pulp Fiction, Hard-Boiled Noir, Victorian England, and as many sub-genres of the genres that interested me. 

I have been published, online, in three anthologies, two novellas, assorted Flash Fiction and Poetry groups, essays, and had the privilege of creating/hosting a Shared World Blog Challenge. An editor in England has an eco-system/non Dystopian novella in his hands that was requested. The 42 Word Anthology has two of my pieces accepted and awaiting publication. Submissions are out flying around. Finally, I lead workshops in Creative Writing as well as three online writing groups (Critique; Generative; and Poetry).

A tad more than a "little something." My good. 

I worked on a Master's degree (not an MFA)  in creative writing-poetry in my twenties, but ended up leaving it to work full-time. When not enrolled in workshops at colleges I was attending, I often started or faciliatated community writing groups.

I switched to non-fiction after my daughter was born, but still have an interest in poetry. I've published some small pieces and am working on memoir. I'm looking for inspiration, accountability, and critiquing. My professional background is in education and I currently teach freshman composition at the college level. 

I earned my BA in Creative Writing from Kansas State University and an MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University. My debut novel, The Evolution of Shadows, was published by Unbridled Books in 2009. I briefly published a DIY literary journal called The Project for a New Mythology, and currentlty host The Outrider Podcast, although it's on hiatus. 

There's not a very well integrated or welcoming writing community where I live, and the pandemic has made it even more fractured. So, I'm looking for a couple of things. 

First, a group of writers to discus craft, aesthetics, and the theory of creative writing and to workshop projects.   

 I'd also like to connect with other writers in situations similar to mine: traditionally published midlist literary writers struggling to get the next book accepted.