Laustinspace

I graduated from the University of Arizona in 2000 with a degree in Wildlife (seriously…Wildlife Biology). Later that year I successfully appealed my only parking ticket.  David Copperfield once disappeared me in front of 2,000 people at Caesar’s Palace, but I found my way back.  I have appeared in two movies: The Getaway with Alec Baldwin and The Postman with Kevin Costner (Huzzah!).  Starting in 2001, I served a three-year stint in the Peace Corps in Honduras. While saving the world, I freaked out way too much about colorful birds and made lots of hideous tortillas. Upon returning to the States in 2004, I served as the campaign manager for a U.S. Congressional bid.

I currently live and work in Sacramento, CA. I’m a community organizer (with “actual responsibilities”) for Sacramento ACT – Area Congregations Together, which strives to improve communities and the quality of life for area families through making ordinary people into strong leaders. I meet with important people all the time and I always get what I want by headbutting them.  My wife is almost done getting her PhD in Ecology at UC Davis.  Meanwhile, we’re successfully raising two awesome kids that seem to have been given to us as gifts for something we must have done really well in past lives.

Austin takes his place in the Vatican amongst some of the greatest thinkers and rulers of history.

In the midst of parenthood and career building and too much Facebooking, I have been attempting to hone my skills as a prolific short-story, essay, screenplay, illustrated-picture-book, and novel writer (and blogger, now, I guess).  I will make writing into a career and I am not just looking for representation, but a long-term relationship with a brutally honest agent that will always push me to new levels of excellence in a variety of genres and styles.

I have been dreaming about seeing my book(s) on the shelf at Barnes & Nobel, etc., for years.  I am determined to make writing a career.  The search for representation has been humbling and sometimes depressing, but I’m thankful for the rigorous process; my book (Arrow of the Sunbird, to be specific) and my writing skills have improved so much along the journey.  Every time I get feedback from an agent I hungrily gobble it up and return to tickling the keyboard.  When I feel the ms stops improving, maybe then I’ll get frustrated.  As it is, I’m more excited than ever about my prospects.