The commutes in and around rural Japan were long, and my mom read books to us or made up fantastic tales to pass the time. Once I could read on my own, I always packed a book or ten. (From second to fifth grade, my trip to school included five trains and a bus ride each way.)

So maybe it’s no surprise that I ended up a storyteller.

In the third grade I wrote my first three-act play, one act per sheet of paper. I went on that year to write my blue-ribbon story—William the Wise Weasel—an honor that came with placing my hand-crafted book in the elementary library.

I was a fan of all things publishable, writing for an underground high school newspaper and editing the yearbook. My teachers, however, didn’t see talent, and one English teacher went so far as to say I was bad at it. So while I loved words and spent a lot of time with them, I arrived in the US for college planning to major in physics. The muses had other ideas. Dr. Carol Holly at St. Olaf College rewired my passion for writing, and I’ve been pen-to-paper ever since.

For 15 years as a copywriter and creative director, I helped hundreds of organizations find their voices. My work has been nationally recognized by Communication Arts, AIGA, GraphicDesign USA and AR100, among others. It was during these years that I also received an MBA from the University of Minnesota. I now run a small boutique firm that names and launches things (from nonprofit initiatives to renaming hospital systems).

On a lark, with the help of my friend and illustrator/designer, Sherwin Schwartzrock, I published a children’s story, Jimmy Jonny Brownie Stays Up All Night, under the pen name Bing Puddlepot. The book garnered wonderful reviews, national recognition (the Silver Benjamin Franklin Book Award and ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Finalist), was reprinted in The Baltimore Sun and broke even in the first year.

As someone who writes for a living and as a hobby, I’ve discovered that I cannot not write, and I’m driven to create smart, well-crafted stories that stick in your head and heart years after you’ve read them. I particularly love helping people find their voice, as it took me a long time to discover my own. To that end, I lead k-12 classrooms in writing and storytelling, I volunteer weekly at the local elementary school and am on the board of a public school cooperative that helps foster writing and creativity. I’m also a choir nerd, love all foods Japanese and sail with my wife and kids as often as a I can.