Born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. Graduated summa cum laude in 1983 from Northern Illinois University (B.A. American studies). Chicago resident 1984-2003. Currently resident of the Bronx, New York. Writing reflects widely varied intellectual and personal interests. University major, American studies, encouraged multidisciplinary thinking and cultural interpretation in light of literature, history, politics, art and anthropology. Writing reflects these subjects and comprises a collage of popular culture, historical events, cultural criticism, urban folklore and oddball trivia. Protagonists tend to be working class in outlook, reflecting family background. Comic mood informs writing. Moral outrage and lively humor common to all comedic writers, from Aristophanes to Pynchon, is shared.