More about me than any reasonable person could possibly want to know

  • I am that rarest of all things–a native Floridian.

    Photo by Jamie Taylor Novak

  • I’m also Cuban-American,  y mi primer idioma fue español.
  • Two of the things I’m most grateful to my parents for are teaching me Spanish first, and making sure that no matter how hard times were, I always had books to read. Further, I’m grateful that my parents never tried to censor what I read.
  • I began writing my first unfinished trunk novel when I was eleven.
  • I got my first rejection from a paying market at the age of thirteen.
  • I attended Catholic school for ten years. I’m mostly recovered now.
  • In college, I had two majors–Mathematics and Literature–and two minors–Computer Science and Theology. “Elective” was just a word I heard from other people.
  • Though I’ve taught mathematics for over twenty years now, I attended graduate school (at Clemson University) for literature, not mathematics.
  • I’ve worked as an editor, a computer programmer, a government researcher, a tutor to the rich and/or famous, and as a teacher.
  • And as a pizza delivery guy.
  • Oh, and as a summer camp counselor. In fact, the most fun job I ever held–and the one I thought I was best at–was as a head counselor.
  • I’ve taught every age from sixth grade to college freshmen.
  • I have a theatre/musical theatre background. I am a tenor two, and not especially prone to stage fright.
  • I was married inside the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
  • I’m an adoptive parent of beautiful twin girls.
  • I’m a fan of the Miami Dolphins, the New York Yankees, and the Miami Heat, in more or less that order.
  • I love teaching in the International Baccalaureate program, because their philosophy on learning matches closely with my own. I am interested in everything, I question everything, and I always want to know more.
  • My favorite book is Speaker for the Dead.
  • The book that saved my life is Ordinary People.
  • The book that saves my sanity every year is Up the Down Staircase.
  • My favorite band is the Indigo Girls, but I love all music that emphasizes harmony.
  • I never set out to write Young Adult stories. I set out to write stories. Later on, other people explained to me that YA was what I had written.
  • I spend way too much time online.
  • I think bulleted lists are really, really lame.

11 Responses to More about me than any reasonable person could possibly want to know

  1. Pingback: Las Nebulosas | William Alexander

  2. Pingback: Interviewing Jose Iriarte, former “homework babysitter,” current short story professional | Rachel Swirsky

  3. Pingback: Interviewing Jose Iriarte, former “homework babysitter,” current short story professional | Alas, a Blog

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