A 1992 graduate of West Point, I served in Italy as a lieutenant until 1995, the stuff of my own legend, or so rumor has it. After receiving an honorable discharge, I then happily took up the pursuit of the life and times of a writer and teacher. Writers I’ve studied under include Ernest Gaines, Luis Urrea, Rebecca Lee, and Philip Gerard. In 2001, I completed an MFA in Fiction at Brooklyn College, working with Jonathan Baumbach and Carey Harrison. I teach creative writing and literature at Hunter College in New York.