I am an alumna of Vanderbilt University and am currently pursuing my MFA in fiction at the University of South Florida. I grew up across fourteen different cities in Florida where I spent most of my childhood pouring stories into the pages of composition notebooks and hiding them from the prying eyes of my twin sister, convinced that she would “steal all my ideas.” I have since developed a love for sharing my work and pushing against the notion that writing is a solitary act. Over the past six years, I have devoted my time to creating and leading writing communities of all kinds.

I, now, teach at University of South Florida, where I’m privileged to lead undergraduate fiction courses. In addition to my university teaching, I’m passionate about curriculum design. I often engage in my local community, bringing a fresh perspective to creative writing pedagogy for all stages of writers.

As a writer, my writing process has always placed emotion at the center. I am often looking inward—retrieving memories with emotional impetus and distilling them until there’s just the feeling, the beating heart of the story. From there, I get to play surgeon, transplanting this emotion somewhere where it still functions the same, if not better. Often, my stories work through themes of grief or regret, though I am particularly drawn to coming-of-age themes and the notion of cycles.

When I’m not writing, I enjoy surfing and hiking (which, in Florida, we often call, “walking”). I love to read all kinds of fiction but have a particular soft spot for stories with magical or speculative components. When I have the time, I like to explore and experiment in the kitchen, often combining recipes and boasting that I am finally capable of “eyeballing” measurements.

My work can be found in The Vanderbilt Review, Writing Queensland, The Colored Lens, and in your inbox in PDF form if you ask nicely.