The Longer Story
I have been creatively slapping words together for the majority of my life. The first real story I remember writing was when I was ten. It was about a man who received a kangaroo in the mail (Mr. Popper’s Penguins obviously influenced me). However, the idea of a strange adventure in an unexpected place was an exciting concept to me at the time and has held tight to my mind long after, powering endless hours of imagination in the woods that crept right up to the back of my childhood home which sat snuggly in the middle of Amish country. Now, grown and uprooted from my fellow trees, I often find myself closing my eyes and returning to the woods whenever I’m writing a new story.
My relationship with words has been a tumultuous one, to say the least. Soon after being born, it became obvious that I had a speech impediment; I had to manually learn every consonant sound, and I wasn’t able to pronounce my name properly until I was eight. Thankfully, I overcame this challenge and try to say as much as I can to make up for lost time. However, a few years later, in high school, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, something my first drafts still show off to this day. Somehow, despite all the hurdles, I still found a place in my heart for words. I loved how I could make any world imaginable by simply speaking it into existence. With this love of other worlds, I gravitated to history, loving the infinite number of stories in our past, and found a particular fascination with folklore (a place where stories, humans, and history all come together). From this convergence, my own stories started to flow in earnest.
Now, taking inspiration from wherever I can, I write in a manner that both delights my inner child and captivates my adult self. Whether it be fiction, poetry, or beyond, my writing is immersed in an unmistakable blend of history, folklore, and nature, with a healthy dose of the weird and wild. When I’m not writing, I occupy my time with an endless parade of other projects. From making maps, diving into an unknown facet of history, making board games, or tending to my fish, one thing always remains true: no matter what the project, at the heart of each is a compelling story.
Looking for more words?
You’re in luck, it’s the point of this site! Check out poems, short stories, and even longer form content, all in My Fiction! If you want fewer words, no worries either, check out The Gallery instead, where there are marginally fewer words.
Want to support what I’m doing?
I want this website’s content to be as accessible as possible, so there is no obligation or expectation that I should get anything in return; the fact that you are on it, reading this right now, is good enough for me at the moment. That being said, life isn’t easy if you feel that my work is worth it, and want to say thank you, AND you don’t have anything else to do with your spare change, I wouldn’t say no to a coffee…
If you can’t, no worries! Simply sending something you like on the website to a friend is more support than I could ever ask for!
Want to know where else I am?
Sometimes I post other places… Follow me if you don’t want to miss out on those special moments.
Instagram • An extension of this site and my projects – a good way to stay in the know about what’s going on here.
Fishtagram • As my little side project, The Fish Nook is a way for me to justify my obsession with all things aquarium.
X/Twitter • One day, I will use this for something other than just for the handle. Follow me if you want to be one of the first people to see a post!
Spotify • I recorded a few of my short stories in the form of a podcast several years ago. While I stopped after a few episodes, it’s something I want to return to and use as an extension of this site one day. Maybe that day is tomorrow… follow to find out!
Don’t want anything to do with me anymore?
Check out these other cool people I follow and whose content is fantastic!
• Adam Lastowka – This is a good friend of mine who has his own website all about things he is interested in. He writes good articles and explains technical content very well.
• Yokai.com, the illustrated database of Japanese folklore – I love Mathew Meyer’s work. Both his art and writings bring the creatures of Japanese folklore alive in a way that captivates, terrifies, and inspires. It’s honestly one of my favorite sites.
• One Earth – This site is fantastic and illustrates the world, climate, and ecology of the Earth in a beautiful and informative way. It’s been a vital resource in many projects and continues to be a go-to site for me whenever I need inspiration from our own planet. I’m linking to their Navigator and not the Homepage because it’s the tool I use and one that others can get use out of too. The organization does fantastic work, though, and I would recommend exploring the rest of the site.
• Aquarium Science – This is hands down the best resource for everything related to Aquariums. It’s infinitely informative and nerdy while cutting through all the misinformation and noise to say it as it is, nothing more, nothing less.
• Aquadiction – I like fish, and so do the creators at Aquadiction. They have created a great and easy-to-use database of freshwater aquarium fish. If you aren’t into Aquariums, they don’t have much for you, but if you are, then it is a great place to explore and learn.
• Flowgrow – In the same vein, here is a massive database of all freshwater aquarium plants. It’s truly exhaustive and a good place to go to if you want to think, “Woah, there are a lot of plants.”