Bio

A.J. was born in Southern California, but has lived all over the world, which has instilled a love of travel and experiencing other cultures. He grew up in the Pacific Northwest and currently lives in rural Virginia. He’s always loved storytelling, movies, and books. Some of his earliest memories as a toddler, came when he lived in The Netherlands. He watched countless American movies because there wasn’t much English on their local TV. This sparked a life-long love and passion storytelling that has been his origin and driving force for making his passion his career. He’s been lucky enough to work as a professional storyteller since he was sixteen. Since 2024, he’s been mostly focusing on novels, especially historical fiction and series.

Philosophy

A.J. is all about story first. He believes the emotional journey that the reader or audience goes on is the most important element of the project. Their overall experience and the impact that the story leaves on them is what they remember most, especially the ending. Satisfying the reader or audience is the most important part of telling a story. If you want readers to keep turning the page, and keep coming back to read your future books, they need to that they’re going to have a worthwhile experience first and foremost. Beyond the reader’s or viewer’s emotional journey, he believes all other story elements are equally important. The character drives the plot. The plot forces change upon the character. The circumstances complicate things for the character. The setting adds complexity to the plot. Payoffs are only as good as your setups. Subtext enriches dialogue and reveals character. And the emotional impact is why we tell the story.