I write fiction and creative non-fiction for the same reasons I write scientific papers: to describe the world around me, to make some sense of it, and to share what I find with others. I also love trying to make beautiful things. Because I feel strongly about the conservation crisis—and because there isn't enough being written about it—most of my essays and short stories are based on things I've experienced in my conservation work. 

I've written two novels about tropical forests. 100 Species (2022) is about a couple of American biologists who are collecting plants and beetles on a road-building project in the Amazon when the 9/11 attacks occur. Youth (1993) is about a conflict between a Costa Rican park and a campesino who lives in the park. Neither has been published. For now, try the essays and short stories.

Photo by me, of plant specimens collected on a 2002 rapid inventory of the Ampiyacu watershed, northern Peru.