Q: What is your area of specialty?
A: I specialized in Literature, with a British Literature concentration, but I teach composition and have a supplemental career in creative writing. I dabble where I please.
Q: What was the title of your master’s thesis or dissertation?
A: The Master’s program I attended allowed PhD courses with mini-dissertations in lieu of a defended thesis. For one, I decoded prophetic dream meanings in Alliterative Morte Arthure, based on time period beliefs. For another, I traced the corsi e ricorsi theory of Giambattista Vico throughout A.S. Byatt’s Possession,according to the novel’s structure, theme, and plot.
Q: What is your most recent publication?
A: I’ve been writing speculative romance novels for crossover audiences that are imbued with literary nuances: ancient astronomical theories, Greek mythology, and Welsh fairy mythology—across three series. My most recent publication is Fever (The Immortal Transcripts book II), which has a four first-person point-of-view epistolary narrative style and follows Greek gods today in a reinvention of Apuleius’s Cupid and Psyche.
Q: What is your favorite assignment to assign?
A: My favorite assignment is my ENGL 102 Critical Research Analysis Paper. I ask students to analyze a short story by using a preferred school of thought to assert a position about a chosen topic found within the text, while evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the piece in relation to that topic.
Q: What was the last book you read?
A: Reading a lot of romance and/or speculative fiction for the escapism in these stressful times, the last being a paranormal thriller Ambrosia by Madison Wheatley.
Q: What are your favorite events on campus?
A: I wish I had more time to attend more events, but something about the Farmer’s Market on Prince lawn makes me happy. Love seeing small local businesses getting support. Also, I just love seeing all the accomplishments of humanities’ students in the halls of EHFA.
Q: Where is your favorite place to eat on campus?
A: I tend to pack my lunch but occasionally hit up Starbucks for a scone and a caramel macchiato.
Q: What do you enjoy most about CCU?
A: I got my B.A. in English and B.A. in Dramatic Arts from CCU so watching and being part of its growth has been an amazing experience. What I enjoy most, though, is simply walking across the beautiful campus to class on a sunny day.
