Two historical battles made famous by literature took place on October 25: the Battle of Agincourt that served as the crescendo to Shakespeare’s Henry V and the Battle of Balaclava enshrined in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” Two battles. Two disparate outcomes. One maxim: always do what you know you ought, … Continue reading The Battle of Book Writing

As I wrote my novel throughout last year, I did not expect a dreadful scene that I had imagined to be so soon plastered on newspapers across the country. The complete, semi-polished manuscript is still hot off the press (of my computer's hard drive, anyway) and I'm still gathering feedback from several people I’ve asked … Continue reading The Course of an Empire — Sample Chapter from a New Novel

One year ago today I walked into the office of The Texan in downtown Austin for the first day of my post-college career. I wrote about Child Protective Services removing a four-year-old without any evidence of child abuse—a story that I would continue to cover until the child was finally reunited with his family and … Continue reading An Unconventional Path to the World of Journalism