Since childhood, I have been a voracious reader. Through reading, I learn about other people, families, countries and cultures. Reading is escape. Reading is fun and a joy. Reading is an unbelievably healthy way my high energy medicates itself. My vocabulary increases with reading. I develop compassion and understanding.

As a child, I loved The New Yorker cartoons. There I discovered great comedians: Steve Allen, Woody Allen, Steve Martin and more. Laughing over their witty essays, I learned about irony and the double-entrende'.

One of my favorite childhood memories is reading with my mother before bedtime, with two kids snuggled up on each side. I did the same with my daughter.

As a teenager, I dove into literature surveys:

1. Russian literature;
2. Gay writers;
3. South American great authors;
4. Black literature;
5. Shakespeare's sonnets and plays.

Reading made me a great student. As a senior in high school, when I took the SAT, I scored over the top in reading comprehension, writing and spelling. The University of Michigan waived all of my required English courses.

My first book was published in 2008.