— About Russ —

I write stories about time, memory, and the moments that quietly change us. My work blends science fiction and fantasy with archaeology, myth, and coming-of-age themes — often following young people who discover that the world is stranger, older, and more demanding than they expected.

I spent the first years of my life convinced I'd become an engineer. Life had other plans. Barely a semester into engineering school in New York City, it occurred to me that my classes in english, fiction writing and history excited me more than fluid dynamics and partial differential equations. I did get a degree in Biomechanics, but my eyes were open.

Open eyes, though, don't make for a career plan. After college, I tried working in a neurobiology laboratory pondering a career in science, teaching English in Japan, selling Macintosh computers, and working at a software company. I went back to school for a masters degree in business.

Right about then, the World Wide Web kicked into gear. I took several jobs at Internet-related firms and then the bottom dropped out — the Internet bubble burst. I landed on my feet at the LEGO Company of plastic brick fame. There I helped launch the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits and played a key role in kickstarting the online LEGO Club. My name's even on a U.S. patent for virtual LEGO bricks. After seven years and over forty trips to company headquarters in Denmark, it was time to move on. I was newly married and had a newfound passion for fiction writing.

My debut novel Quiznot is available now, with two more books arriving in 2026.

Today I write in the mornings and code websites the rest of the day. I currently live in northern Virginia with my wife, three teens, two cats and a dog.