I'm high school graphic design and marketing teacher, at a large suburban high school in Massachusetts. Working as a high school teacher and observing the outlandish world of adolescence was the inspiration for my first young adult novel, "Suburban Zombie High." My inspiration for writing stems from being a youth who struggled with reading in school. While I struggled in school, I found myself devouring comics and later fantasy novels. Their influences could be seen in the tall tales I would spin.I took the long route to becoming a writer. For a brief time, I majored in Creative Writing but exchanged one passion for another and majored in Art and Design. My passion for reading about superheroes, fantastical worlds, and panic-stricken situations would become the foundation of my writing career.I participated in my first NaNoWriMo in 2006 and continue to write an entire novel every November. Now I am the NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison to the Massachusetts Metrowest Region. I also belong to a weekly writing group, the Metrowest Writers.