I honestly didn’t know I had a Jersey accent until we moved out of Jersey. I thought everyone spoke the same way, called things by the same name, you know like subs, sprinkles, taylor ham, etc. It was quite the struggle, when, in fact, people elsewhere said hoagies, jimmies and pork roll.

Proper names of food notwithstanding, being a hardcore reader (thanks to those endless days at the library with Mom) helped shape my desire to produce stories of my own. Inspiration is endless, from movies, to board games, to more books (“It is a far better thing I do…”).