You can find the bare facts of who I’ve written for and what my skills are on Linkedin or my about page, but that’s dull. My resume only tells you what I’ve done, not who I am. To accomplish that, I asked myself a few questions that might provide a deeper look.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING?
I’ve always been a storyteller. My mother likes to say I’ve been writing since I could hold a pen, with my first story being a crayon-drawn comic book titled “Robots Upon the Earth.” After that, it was a book of nature observations written on loose leaf paper and bound with green ribbon.
However, my first paycheck for writing came from the Forest Park Review in 2011.
IF YOU WEREN’T DOING THIS, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?
I’m an information omnivore. I pick up new hobbies and minor obsessions all the time. Writing is the best way to sate that appetite. However, if I couldn’t write, I would probably pursue a job teaching English as a second language. It combines my love of traveling the world and soaking up new experiences with my love of the English language.
Failing that, I’d be a brewer, because making beer at home is the closest I’ve come to performing alchemy. Like baking, it’s a marriage of science and culinary art. Not only do you need to produce something that tastes good, but you also have to have some understanding of microbiology so that you can create the right conditions for yeast to transform sugar water into something new.
Failing that, I’d be an anthropologist of some kind. I’ve been drawn to the exploration of human history and culture since I was very young. Maybe Indiana Jones was to blame. I was obsessed with mythology and ancient civilizations as a kid, and still am to an extent. I especially gobbled up everything I could learn about the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Vikings.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
Everyone’s favorite interview question! I am very adaptable and very persistent. My education in film and journalism, along with my experience in computer-assisted reporting at The Chicago Reporter, has made me a jack of many trades and a master of some. Persistence is important whether I’m chasing down a source for a news story or trying to find the perfect stat for an infographic. I don’t give up on things easily.
WHAT ARE YOUR WEAKNESSES?
Everyone’s least favorite interview question. My habit of picking up new hobbies and obsessions sometimes leads to me spreading myself too thin, and my persistence sometimes expresses itself as stubbornness.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING?
I still write some fiction for fun, but most of my writing is aimed at paying my bills and putting food on the table. To escape, I love to camp and hike. Seattle is the perfect home base for anyone who loves the outdoors.
WHAT BOOKS HAVE INFLUENCED YOU MOST?
When I was young, Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451 blew me away. It taught me the importance of the freedom of the press and the value of dissenting ideas in society. Most recently, John Steinbeck’s East of Eden reminded me that individuals always have a choice to resist evil regardless of circumstance, and that the past does not have to define the present.