Bio:

I am very excited to be the new Regional Advisor for SCBWI Alaska. It's a big state, far away from our friends in the lower 48, filled with great authors and illustrators. I can't wait to bring their great work to you, and inspire new authors and illustrators. The distances are vast up here, but with the internet, I thinks e can make those distances smaller and be a great community.

I am the Program Director for WYAK, Write Young Alaska, a group that supports young writers in Alaska. We are an offshoot of 49 Writers, a non-profit that supports adult writers in Alaska. I coordinate, run, and teach many events though out Anchorage and Alaska; a writing club that meets weekly; special events such as the write-a-thon and release of our anthology of our youths' best writing; webinars for remote villages; programs at a youth detention center; writing contests, workshops for teachers; and workshops for youths.

The long, dark winter days in Alaska, and endless summer nights equally give me inspiration to write.

My middle grade, urban fantasy, Nyghtmare (formally DigiVice) is touring editors' and agents' desks. It's about a fourteen-year-old boy who, dreaming of fame and fortune, creates a video game based on his bad dreams, but ends up battling his worst fear when Nyghtmare comes to life and kidnaps his father. The ransom? The code that will give the villain permanent life in the real world where he plans on killing all the gamers who've been killing him. While fighting to save his father and friends, Valin learns that by believing in himself, he can master how he plays the game of life.

This story was a finalist in The Pacific Northwest Writer's Association Literary Contest 2010, 2011, and 2012.

I graduated from the Evergreen State College in Washington State with a BA in Outdoor Education. I have been a flight instructor, ran a small hotel in Holland, and back packed around the world. I received a certificate in Popular Fiction from the University of WA, taught by Pam Binder, president of the PNWA. I now divide my time between four passions: writing, yoga (practicing and teaching), being outdoors, and raising my children.

Writer
Associate
Member since 2009
Region: Alaska

Contact Information

Phone:   907-891-1659
Website:  http://www.statalias.com

Published In Children's Market: No