Being a Black male teacher with a Master’s in English and an author career projects, to those who meet me, one of two images. In the first, I am an inspiration to the Black and Brown kids I work with who don’t get to see someone like them in education. I get to give them images of Black authorship in science fiction and fantasy, or build worlds for them where they’re understood and the challenges they face are addressed.

The other image, though, is that of a threat. For the people who don’t understand the culture of Black people, who think that the extent of our excellence and achievement should be limited to entertainment, I seem to be an unsightly abnormality.

What I hope to achieve, though, is a facilitation of unity between a mutual appreciation for literary art. I want to address the issues of our present time, but I also want to create stories that are just as entertaining as they are powerful. I want to leave a legacy of cultural empathy through literary expression, where people who read my works can feel emboldened to be themselves to the utmost. There is freedom to be found here.

I have written stories that blend my overactive imagination with my experiences as a Black man, as an educator, a martial artist, a Christian preacher, a fiancé (soon to be husband) and as a surrogate father to catalyze the exploration of underrepresented perspectives as they are presented in (as of yet) unexplored realities. My hope is that it I write something that you can see the life in.