I was born in 1986 in Brooklyn, New York. I moved to Virginia at the age of three, but my close-knit
family raised me to always appreciate my New York heritage. The importance of family, a respect for
the past, while always keeping an eye toward the future, was engrained in me. These values remain
underpinnings in how I approach writing scripts.
Like many, I dealt with bullying during my childhood and adolescence that resulted in me feeling like an
outsider and fostered in me empathy for the pain of others. With the encouragement of family and
teachers I discovered writing as a way to explore the perspective of both perpetrator and victim, which I
found therapeutic.
Naturally I have had the usual grunt jobs that range from working in warehouses, summer programs for
city youth, bagging groceries and doing manual labor for the municipal public works department. These
jobs reinforced the working class mentality of my family in me. In recent years I have worked in paid
and unpaid positions on short films, commercials, industrial films and public service announcements.
Although I had a number of supportive professors and peers, because of the subject matter of my scripts
and short films, other professors would not approve of my work for consideration for showcases and
festivals. However, these professors remarked that I did have talent when it came to creating
entertaining plots, complex characters and sharp dialogue. I currently work as an online instructor.
While my initial attention was given to musicals like “Annie” and “The Sound of Music”, I eventually
became interested in characters and stories that were complex and in morally gray areas. I believe this is
a result of my grandfather and uncle being retired New York City police officers. Both men regaled me
with stories of petty criminals, incompetent fellow officers and corrupt politicians throughout my teen
years. Their stories, combined with the movies and television programs we watched together, were
instrumental in my decision to write many scripts in the urban crime genre.
From Batman to Tony Soprano, and on to Vic Mackey, Dale Cooper and Rust Cohle, I increasingly
found myself drawn to characters that were flawed, off-beat, and compelling. These types of characters
continue to inspire the ones I create.
As a writer, I excel at dialogue, plot and character development. My writing style can best be described
as “vividly gritty”. I am especially influenced by the films of the 1970’s. Of particular importance to me
are “The Godfather”, “Mean Streets”, “The French Connection”, the serialized dramas of the last 25
years that began with “Twin Peaks”, as well as the writings of James M. Cain, Dennis Lehane, Mario
Puzo and Dashiell Hammett.
These inspirations and approaches are reflected in my ability to craft complex storylines involving
imperfect people that communicate in a hardboiled, philosophical, and witty voice infused with a sense
of dark absurdist humor.
