I’m a fiction writer and editor whose work explores the complexities of human life, the power of storytelling to build understanding, and the ways place and history shape who we are. Whether writing literary fiction, folk narratives, or nonfiction, I’m drawn to the moments that reveal our shared humanity.

My debut story collection, Monsters in Appalachia (Vandalia Press/West Virginia University Press, 2016), delves into the moral and emotional fault lines of rural life. The book was a finalist for the Weatherford Award, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Award, and the Foreword Indies Book Award. Readers have called stories in the collection haunting, compassionate, and deeply human–a reflection of the cultural landscapes that continue to shape my work.

Beyond fiction, I serve as the managing editor of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, where I help bring research and real-world stories together to strengthen public health systems and communities. 

In addition to working on a novel set in Appalachia, I’m currently developing a nonfiction book that invites readers to explore the philosophical frameworks underlying our sense of right and wrong–and how rediscovering them might help us navigate a divided modern world. I’m also investigating the civic legacy of an Appalachian leader whose life and work transformed education and community well-being.

A lifelong student of narrative in all its forms, my work bridges literature, history, and the moral questions that define rural and working-class life in America. 

My writing, teaching, and speaking all share one aim: to help people understand themselves and one another more deeply through story. 

Themes I Explore

• Moral complexity and the gray spaces of human behavior
• The role of storytelling in shaping empathy and wisdom
• The intersection of culture, place, and identity
• Narrative as a force for personal and social transformation