I am a veteran of the Navy, the author of the short story collection Big Lonesome, and the host of the irreverent reading series Vermin on the Mount, now in its ninth year.I am currently a columnist for Razorcake, America's only indie music magazine, and San Diego City Beat where I mostly write about books in my column The Floating Library.I have won some awards, including the grand prize in Reader's Digest Life Story contest, a scholarship from Bread Loaf, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.My interests include Irish lit, Italian westerns, nautical adventure stories, punk music and tattoo culture.I divide my time between San Diego and Los Angeles in the great state of California.