I grew up a "no sabo" kid in the Pacific Northwest, half Chilean caught between cultures, never fitting into what being Hispanic was portrayed as in the 90s. Jack London's stories of adventure and self-reliance inspired me to be brave. Isabel Allende's gave me a way of connecting with the other half of my heritage I could only access at home.

I studied traditional photography — the black and white darkroom kind, stinking of sulphur and surrounded by chemical trays — then spent years in the Navy as a mass communication specialist, where I did a little of everything: broadcast, videography, written feature stories.

These days I work in essays and short fiction rooted in family and cultural memory, moving between literary realism, speculative fiction, and magical realism. I'm pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing and working on my first book.