ABOUT DYLAN

While I am new to the publishing world, I am no stranger to writing and to fantasy. I firmly believe that every writer should also be an avid reader of the types of books they want to create. To that end, I have been an extensive reader for many years and almost always carry a book with me. I have been writing for as long as I can remember, having learned the art from my mother, Janina Birtolo. She is one of the most successful freelance writers in Southwest Florida and has won numerous awards that demonstrate her skill. Recently she has been involved in writing and acting out her one-woman plays.

Outside of fiction writing, I work as a programming writer for Microsoft in Redmond. It is the best of both worlds because it allows me to improve my writing as well as avoid the starving portion of “starving artist”. Besides, I believe that I should at least use my degree to pay for itself. I graduated from MIT in 2000 with two degrees in Computer Science and Biology. I took several writing classes while I was there, trying to prove that while MIT may be an engineering school, creativity still exists there.

I used to attend martial arts classes at Chikara Dojo which was located just North of St. Paul. It was a school of kenjutsu - the art of Japanese swordsmanship. In place of a dojo, I have joined on with the Seattle Knights. They are an amazing group of actors who primarily focus on stage combat. I can truly say that stage combat, if done well, is at least as hard and requires at least as much skill as dojo training. If you're in the Pacific Northwest, come to a show!

When I catch a moment to breathe I usually spend my time, playing Ultimate Frisbee, playing role-playing games (I admit I’ve been playing Dungeons and Dragons since the first edition), video games, board games and camping. On my journal, I provide a weekly review of a board or card game that I have played. I also have an account on Board Game Geek and post my reviews there as well.

I have had many different experiences from thru-hiking along the Appalachian Trail (just part of it), spending a week in the Boundary Waters, working in emergency veterinary medicine, volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center and working in a biological research laboratory.

I view all of these experiences as wonderful tools to incorporate realistic elements into my writing.