I was born in New Haven and grew up, primarily, in Hamden , CT. I graduated from Notre Dame High School (West Haven ) in 1964 and got my higher education at the United States Military Academy and the University of Idaho . I have a B.A. in English with a minor in math and an M.A. in English.
I worked in the wines and spirits industry for six years, then went to work for a sales promotion company, eventually opening my own ad agency in New Jersey , which I ran for fifteen years. More recently, I was the managing editor of the Norwalk Citizen-News.
Besides teaching at Norwalk Community College (where I received the 2010 Teacher of the Year award), I am a teacher and premier tutor for the Princeton Review, teaching SAT math and verbal, ACT, SSAT, GRE and GMAT. I am also a trainer for the Princeton Review. In addition, I am a freelance writer (focusing on the arts), the theater critic for the Brooks chain of newspapers and a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. I am also a member of the Connecticut Center for the Book’s executive board and for the past three years was a judge for the annual Connecticut Book Awards.
My stories have appeared in numerous magazines as well as in Houghton Mifflin’s Best American Mystery Stories 2000 anthology, and my award-winning poetry has been published in over fifty journals and magazines. I have acted in regional theater, been a high school baseball umpire, produced numerous television commercials and training films and done voice-overs for commercials.