YA Novel:

Squares (Unpublished)

Have you ever noticed how some of the best things in life come in square packages?

Opal Valentine lives with her mentally ill mother in Garvin, Colorado, a designated All-America City with great lawns, sweatsuit-wearing thugs and a commercial feedlot that perfumes the town on hot summer nights. An honors student who hates high school, Opal’s goals are to find her doppelganger, become a documentary filmmaker and move as far away as possible.

After enrolling herself in an online high school, Opal teams up with her new classmate, Emily, a talented artist and six-foot-two, self-described Viking princess, to organize the school’s first ever, cyber school prom. To pull it off, they enlist the help of Cyrus, a violin prodigy Opal meets on the Junior Perspicacity Society Facebook page, and Duncan, the hot guy from L.A., who rents an apartment in her basement and may or may not be wanted by the Aryan Mafia.

As their friendship deepens, the four of them come to grips with their problems and discover they are not defined by them. From doppelgangers and punk violin, to historical factoids and a prom in a bowling alley, each of them brings something to the table that is helpful to the others. And in the process, they learn to help themselves.

Short Fiction:

“Crack of the Bat,” Potpourri, A Magazine of the Literary Arts, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2001

“The House Guest,” Clubhouse Jr., April 2005

Comedy:

The Improv Comedy Workshop, San Jose, California — Wrote sketches and performed as member of San Jose, California improv comedy troupe.

KOME 98.5 FM, San Jose, California — Wrote comedy sketches and did voice work for radio shock jock, Dennis Erectus. Parodied celebrities, TV characters and political figures, including Jimmy Swaggart, Pee-wee Herman, Batman and Elvis. Voiced and wrote skits featuring the recurring character of Large Marge, a crazed and persistent fan.

KQED public television, San Francisco, California — Writer and performer for 1980s comedy show, Good Morning Silicon Valley.

Corporate:

Tony Beaver Peanut Brittle, Loveland, Colorado — Wrote marketing materials and web content for candy company.

Demand Media, Santa Monica, California — Freelance editor (Internet copy)

Tiburon Systems, Inc., San Jose, California — Wrote and edited software manuals and marketing materials for defense contractor.

Abbott Laboratories, Mountain View, California — Freelance technical editor for pharmaceutical company

Addison-Wesley Publishing, Menlo Park, California — Freelance copy editor

Disneyland, Anaheim, California — Traffic coordinator /proofreader for Disney News Magazine

Memberships:

SCWBI

Northern Colorado Writers