I grew up an anonymous member of a tribe in a family of nine kids.

I left home at 17, drifted through a year of college in West Virginia then settled in Boston where I enrolled in the Berklee School of music.

I studied flute and saxophone by day and supported myself by waitressing at night.

After a few years I moved to New York City where I eked out a meager living playing in various jazz, Latin and pop bands.

I formed my own group, recorded a few demos and wrote the music and lyrics for two Off-Off Broadway Plays.

Columbia Records signed me to a two-album deal. My first release, “Just Before After Hours”, was a modest success receiving favorable reviews in People Magazine and Cashbox.

I started rehearsing for the second album. Before recording began Columbia dropped most of their jazz roster, including me.

Having lost my sole source of income I desperately needed money.

I took a job as a taxi driver. Several months later I was involved in a serious accident.

When my case went to trial the jury awarded me a small settlement. I used the money to finish my B.A. and M.A. in music.

I then enrolled in a doctoral program. After completing half the coursework I got a pamphlet in the mail entitled “Career Alternatives for People with PhD’s in Musicology.”

Taking the hint I dropped out and took a ‘real’ job teaching music, first in Spanish Harlem, then in Florida and urban New Jersey.

That’s when I started writing!

Writer’s Digest, an imprint of iuniverse, published my first novel, The Payback, in 2001. I’ve finished two other books.

The Firekeeper is a historical fantasy that parallels the Salem witchcraft trials and Poetic Justice is a suburban thriller loosely based on the Sidney Reso kidnapping.

I’m also working on A Quality Education, a satire about urban public schools and a thriller called Stalking the Stalker.