I was born in 1969 in Waterville, Maine. I've been writing since I was a kid, although not

 regularly until 1997. Thanks to my parents' habit of taking us outside every weekend, no

 matter what the weather was like, I love being outdoors. I am an avid hiker, skier, swimmer,

 and whitewater kayaker.

 I was lucky enough to get into the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop in

 1999. I had some great experiences there, selling my first story to one of the instructors (Scott

 Edelman at Science Fiction Age) and making some great friends. I also learned that I had a lot

 to learn in terms of plotting, character development, introspection, handling exposition and just

 about every other aspect of writing. I'm definitely a work in progress.

 In 1992, my brother Paul said, "Why don't we kayak a river sometime?" It's funny how one

 little sentence can completely alter (read: "ruin") the course of your life. I'm joking, sort of. I

 love whitewater and have worked as a guide on rivers in Maine. I've also worked and played

 on rivers in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, West Virginia, Argentina, Chilean

 Patagonia and (this December) Costa Rica. I do wonder, sometimes, what my life would have

 been like if I had got a real job...