Rogue Women Writers Guest Feature

My Many Lives as a Latent Novelist

At first blush, my past lives as an esoteric organic chemist, prescription drug hawker, Wall Street scumbag, and access journalist have little in common. They certainly don’t point to a pivot into novel writing—and yet here we are. When I reflect upon my past experiences in Academia and Corporate America, I realize the motivating factor in all my career changes was a desire to communicate complex ideas. As an organic chemist, publishing research papers appealed to me much more than lab work. As a marketing guy, the creativity and persuasiveness of language interested me more than the products themselves. And as a research analyst for both a Wall Street bank and a business intelligence company, crafting arguments and convincing crazy smart people to adopt my point-of-view was what made those jobs exciting (if societally useless). In each arena I was telling—and selling—stories for organizations who rarely shared my values. Eventually I decided to use my own voice to tell my own tales.

Midlife Crisis as Creative Catalyst

In November 2018, with my daughter nearing three and my son in utero, I crushed a series of interviews for a position I was 1) way overqualified for and 2) didn’t really want. The bogus biotech company in question rejected my application—and subsequently imploded #karma—and something inside my brain snapped. With no background in literature and no designs on an MFA, I nonetheless declared myself a writer and started drafting a novel. It was a mess: too long, underdeveloped protagonist, wrong POV, unsatisfying denouement, bad title. Of course, armed with my legendary delusions of grandeur, I sent the book out to literary agents and got told to get bent. Despite the overwhelmingly negative response from “the market,” I loved the experience of creating my own story and I couldn’t wait to bash my head into the wall all over again. In September 2021, I went back to the drawing board and began a brand-new novel called Leverage.

Full-Body Hobby

When I need a break from the keyboard, my favorite form of exercise is indoor bouldering. The full-body workout melds strength training, cardiovascular endurance, and mental problem solving. I began bouldering with my wife back in 2012 and we’ve been aficionados ever since. While I’m rapidly aging out of the more advanced “projects,” my daughter has shown an increasing interest in the sport, and I suspect I’ll be lumbering up the wall well into middle age. 

Honeymoon of a Lifetime

Exactly ten years ago my wife and I went on the trip of a lifetime to the Galapagos Islands. As a science-loving kid the archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin held a mythical place in my mind. It was only after my wife pitched the locale as a long overdue honeymoon destination that I realized we could actually go there in the flesh. The experience was truly amazing: We swam with seals and iguanas on picturesque beaches, snorkeled with penguins and sharks in choppy waters, hiked on the remnants of dormant volcanoes, and more. The trip was so unforgettable we named our daughter (Isabella) after the archipelago’s largest island (Isabela).

Grimly Topical and Darkly Funny

My debut novel Leverage tackles multiple big and troubling ideas: corporate and political corruption, institutional racism and sexism, systematized economic inequality and unrestrained casino capitalism. I know that sounds incredibly dour, but I managed to make the book fast-paced and hella fun to read, too. If you’d like to know how the sausage gets made on Wall Street, and you’re looking to laugh out loud in the process, give the novel a go!