I teach creative writing at the University of Tulsa and have published several books of poetry, academic journal articles, and a scholarly monograph, with another near completion. As a working screenwriter, I am not new to narrative or fiction, which I studied in college. Although this is my first novel, I've felt compelled to write it, considering my job as a professor and my concern for the growing epidemic of sexual assault on my campus and others across the country. I earned my PhD in English at the University of Notre Dame and my BA at the University of Texas, two schools where football is king, so I've been immersed in the culture of my novel most of my life.