Look and Listen

Biography

I grew up an only child in a very loving household consisting of my grandparents and my mother. We were very close and traveled often together, mainly to Germany to visit the rest of our family. I learned to draw and paint early on and took lessons when I was about five. It was my favorite thing to do. I also loved to write. I had an Annie diary that I had tucked away with the lock always on it. Now I wonder what was so important back then! Sort of silly, I guess. I went to a Catholic elementary school and the nuns were quite harsh with us. But then I transferred out into public school and thing seemed much better. Junior High was probably the high point in my life. I was a straight A Honors student, who was also on the competitive gymnastics team at S.C.A.T.s. But my transition to high school didn’t go as smoothly. I couldn’t seem to find where I “fit in” and my grades began to fall. I would eventually go to 9 high schools until my mother said enough is enough. I took my GED. Years later I decided to go to college where I focused on English in the AP program again. Everything just seemed to click. I went on a study abroad program where I lived for three months in Rome, which was very exciting. When my grandmother began ailing I quit school to care for her. It was during this time that I wrote the story Torn. While fictional in many respects, I also drew upon the experiences I had witnessed between friends and my personal relationships. Torn is very much a journey. It’s about finding out who you are.

Inspiration

Not knowing anything about the gay lifestyle or what it meant to be gay back in 1989, I began to be curious when a friend of mine confided in me that he was gay. I was so lost that I later checked out books in the library on the subject. It seems ridiculous now, but that’s just how confused I felt about this whole new world he had opened up to me. I figured that he wasn’t the only person who felt that way, and I thought other kids had to be struggling with the same issues as he was. That’s part of what brought me to write Torn. To give a voice to those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or simply curious.