About
me
I grew up in the Canadian cities of Windsor, Ontario and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. After finishing school, I went to Dalhousie University's theatre program, where I studied acting and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1989.
I worked for few years as a professional actor, then decided this was a mad thing to do for a living and retired. (The Canadian film, television, and theatre industries subsequently shut down.)
Figuring out what was next involved cycling 500 miles through the Arizona desert, operating a backhoe, riding the train across Canada, waiting tables, and selling hand-made greeting cards featuring my own illustrations, until I finally settled into a career as a graphic designer in Toronto.
I grew up in the Canadian cities of Windsor, Ontario and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. After finishing school, I went to Dalhousie University's theatre program, where I studied acting and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1989.
I worked for few years as a professional actor, then decided this was a mad thing to do for a living and retired. (The Canadian film, television, and theatre industries subsequently shut down.)
Figuring out what was next involved cycling 500 miles through the Arizona desert, operating a backhoe, riding the train across Canada, waiting tables, and selling hand-made greeting cards featuring my own illustrations, until I finally settled into a career as a graphic designer in Toronto.
Throughout this whole time, I'd been writing, but
my first public work didn't come until 1997, when I
co-authored, co-produced, and co-starred in the
play Denman Dance at Toronto's Buddies in
Bad Times Theatre with my friend Mark Cosgrove.
Taken with this experience, I wrote my first novel, doubleZero. I self-published it in 1999, and was welcomed into the underground ‘zine community in Toronto — strangely, for having produced a book that didn’t look self-published. doubleZero was Broken Pencil magazine's Spring 2000 "Book of the Issue", and sold in major bookstores across Canada. I also had the opportunity to do a series of readings — something that, as recovering actor, I enjoyed doing.
In 2000, I finished my second book, The Willies, about the debate on human medical research, in which two estranged friends deal with the discovery that they’re actually clones while on the lam. I keep writing books about people moving from one place to another, and as I finished this second novel, I felt the urge to do it for real. So in May of 2001, I gave in to my genes (and my name) and moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, where today I live and work as a freelance copywriter.
This new home inspired me to write a third novel, Idea in Stone, a magical realist story set in Edinburgh. I released it in 2006 under my own imprint — printing and binding each copy myself in my home studio.
Most recently, I felt prompted to write another book by a topic that's being debated in the news but seems to be generating surprisingly little cultural response. The result is Finitude — a novel in which a group of characters bumble their way through the chaotically-changing climate of a world much like ours, trying to survive.
I'm continuing to experiment with different bookbinding techniques, and intend to write a lot more books so I can make 'em! I'm also committed to helping others go public with their own "Culture of One". To share what I've learned and to show how simple it is to get started, I've released "DIY Book" — a podcast that's available on this site and on iTunes.
Taken with this experience, I wrote my first novel, doubleZero. I self-published it in 1999, and was welcomed into the underground ‘zine community in Toronto — strangely, for having produced a book that didn’t look self-published. doubleZero was Broken Pencil magazine's Spring 2000 "Book of the Issue", and sold in major bookstores across Canada. I also had the opportunity to do a series of readings — something that, as recovering actor, I enjoyed doing.
In 2000, I finished my second book, The Willies, about the debate on human medical research, in which two estranged friends deal with the discovery that they’re actually clones while on the lam. I keep writing books about people moving from one place to another, and as I finished this second novel, I felt the urge to do it for real. So in May of 2001, I gave in to my genes (and my name) and moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, where today I live and work as a freelance copywriter.
This new home inspired me to write a third novel, Idea in Stone, a magical realist story set in Edinburgh. I released it in 2006 under my own imprint — printing and binding each copy myself in my home studio.
Most recently, I felt prompted to write another book by a topic that's being debated in the news but seems to be generating surprisingly little cultural response. The result is Finitude — a novel in which a group of characters bumble their way through the chaotically-changing climate of a world much like ours, trying to survive.
I'm continuing to experiment with different bookbinding techniques, and intend to write a lot more books so I can make 'em! I'm also committed to helping others go public with their own "Culture of One". To share what I've learned and to show how simple it is to get started, I've released "DIY Book" — a podcast that's available on this site and on iTunes.
