In my early career as an artist, I made a living sculpting cartoon characters and superheroes. My portfolio included characters from DC Comics, Nickelodeon, and Pixar. It was the best job I ever could have imagined, but I was destined to be a writer. This unlikely path was set forth for me in fifth grade. I have always had difficulty reading, and after I suffered a humiliating experience that made me feel dumb, I determined to prove I was smart. To do that, I told my 10-year-old self, that someday I was going to write a book. 

 

It took until  I was in my fifties, by my debut novel, “All We Had,” came out in 2014. Two years later, the movie was produced by Tribeca films. 

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My experience with dyslexia has fueled my interest and informed my  writing on visual intelligence and literacy. 

 

Throughout my career, I 've maintained a practice as a visual artist. This amazing house was built around a series of my paintings and my animated short story, “Monster in a Dress,” recently screened at The Corcoran School of Art & Design and is currently being distributed by Good Docs and Sage Publishing. 

 

My current project combines my two creative loves: writing about and drawing people. “Oddballs and Relationships of Erstwhile, CT ”  is a series of literary cartoons fashioned after some of the people I grew up with.