1) Why Salem?

The pseudonym came from a confusion between friends: my fiancee was engaged to a woman named “Toni,” and “Toni” was mistaken for the name of my friend’s cat. People playfully claimed my fiancee was engaged to a cat. “A talking cat,” they said, when I would speak to them over Skype. “Like Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” To which I replied, “Meow.” It was silly and it stuck.

2) How long have you been writing?

I've been writing for the better part of seventeen years, since I was about eleven or twelve, and a short while after I grew out of playing with toys and make-believe with friends. I managed perfect scores on state writing exams, won contests, and was invited to showcases in grade school. In middle school, collaborated with friends who were artists to develop stories and comics that never gained momentum. In high school, I completed one manuscript (it was terrible) and started another (that is on hiatus). Then I studied creative writing at university.