Author and Writing Teacher

I composed my first poems as a teenager and haven’t stopped writing since. In my "Creative Presence" practice, I view the blank page as a canvas of courageous possibility and transformation—a philosophy I pass on to my students, drawing from my own journey as a seeker of self-knowledge. From my twenties as an underground songwriter to my fifties, when I published my debut memoir, I viewed storytelling as a sacred art, which can teach us to find purpose in our pain.

Most of my published works—from the haunting tales of Fantasmas to my memoir, Taking Refuge in the Fire—explore the borders between the seen and unseen, the known and unknown. As a teacher, I guide writers to overcome the pitfalls of the inner critic and access flow states. The most daring—and often frightening—thing we can do is tell our story exactly as we felt and remember it. To tell the raw truth.

Writing about your life can function much like Vipassana meditation, when you observe the thoughts, emotions, and impressions that arise and subside in the mind without judging them. Exploring these insights on the page can deepen your meditation practice and the self-understanding it offers. By probing deeper into the psyche through written expression, you cultivate golden equanimity.

All you need is a guide.

• Services: Workshop Facilitation (each series includes 10 sessions with meditation and writing prompts—-Contact me for rates and info):

(1) Mindful Reflections (Memoir and Meditation)

(2) Painting the Shadow (Shadow Writing and Meditation)

(3) Purification (Deep Self-Inquiry and Meditation)

(4) Awakening (Revealing Purpose and Meditation)

• Literary Credits (Select):

2005, Buzz and Israel, Fireking Press, novel, author

2007, Business as Unusual, Fireking Press, fiction collection, author

2008, Backdraft, Cleis Press, “Anthony”, short story, author

2008, Gallery, Fireking Press, short story collection, author

2010, Contraband, Rebel Satori Press, a novel, author

2011, Meditations/Meditaciones, Fireking Press, poetry collection, author

2012, Love, Christopher Street, Vantage Point Press, “The Voices”, essay, author

2013, Hustler Rave: XXX, Lethe Press, poetry collection, co-author

2019, Crashing Cathedrals, ITNA Press, “The Burning Library”, essay, author

2020, Fantasmas: Puerto Rican Tales of the Dead, CV Publishing, short story collection

2025, Ruptures: Selected Poetry (1995-2025), CV Publishing, poetry

2026, Taking Refuge in the Fire: Purification Through Creative Presence, Rebel Satori Books, memoir

2026, Desert Father, CV Publishing, poetry, pending

2027, The Return to the Dead, suspense/thriller novel, pending