Jeremy Rodden

I spent the first ten years of my professional life in retail sales, working my way up to store management positions in two different Fortune 500 retailers.  Along the way, I managed to earn a BA in Religion and English Writing from La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA and an MA in Secondary Education from Holy Family University, also in Philadelphia.

After completing my Masters, I began teaching high school English.  When my second son was born in May, 2010, however, my wife and I decided that it would be more prudent for me to be a stay-at-home dad, taking care of the new baby along with my first son, who was born in June, 2005.  I have since had the challenge and pleasure of being a homemaker.

It was at this time that I finally grasped the stories that had been in my head since I was a teenager and wrangled them to paper.  Toonopolis began as a silly interactive fiction game played with some real life and virtual friends.  The game only lasted a few years but the world I had created and my characters never escaped my thoughts.

As a writer, I consider C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll to be my strongest influences.  They were able to create magical worlds that readers of all ages enjoy, which is exactly what I want to achieve with Toonopolis.  It is a lofty goal, indeed, but the only goals that will invariably be unachievable are the ones that are not set.