CURRENT MISSION

geeky quest to write book

ABOUT ME

I make my living as a journalist, poet, critic, editor and teacher. I write for newspapers like The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Fodor's travel guides and many other places.

My new book "Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms" comes out this September.

Read more about the book and me here: http://www.fantasyfreaksbook.com/

PHILOSOPHY

be brave, be kind, be aware

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Iceland -- great experience, and Milwaukee in the good old US of A; on the hosting side, here in Boston, I have hosted folks from Australia, Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Canada, uh let's see, other places

Interests

travel, food, film, literature, music, walking, being lazy, sleeping, dancing, wine, beer, ultimate frisbee (I'll explain) ... etc etc. I used to live in Paris (for five years) and moved back to the States a few years ago, so I like to think I have a open with a worldly view. I am not voting for John McCain, don't worry

• books
• literature
• dancing
• dining
• wine
• beer
• walking
• traveling
• music
• teaching
• journalism

Music, Movies, and Books

so many to list!! -- music: Led Zeppelin, Ben Folds Five, Wilco, Modest Mouse, Harry and the Potters, Johnny Cash, The Bee Gees, Chopin, movie soundtrack music; movies: gosh, so much, everything from foreign films to American schlock; Lord of the Rings, Kurosawa, Herzog; Hitchcock; books: short stories, novels, poetry, non-fiction, hard to say what, more on the literary rather than commercial side. etc etc

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

On assignment for various publications, I have interviewed Sir Ben Kingsley, David Carradine and Sister Helen Prejean; learned to sword fight and taste-tested caffeinated beer; acted as an extra on a movie set and embarked on a quest for the perfect French fry; and walked across Scotland, mountain biked the French Pyrenees, explored caves in New York State and backpacked through India.

Countries I’ve Visited

Anguilla, Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, France, United States