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About Kevin

Kevin is the author of the Oliver Nocturne books and Carlos is Gonna Get It. He also writes songs and sings in Seattle band Central Services, and their kids' music counterpart, The Board of Education. A former elementary school science teacher, Kevin continues to work with kids and teens at 826 Seattle and teaches through the Writers in the Schools program.

Kevin grew up in Cheshire, CT, which proudly calls itself the Bedding Plant Capital of Connecticut. Kevin's life in Cheshire had little to do with bedding plants, yet he did pick up an enthusiasm for gardening and a profound enjoyment of mowing perfectly straight lines, though his parents will tell you that these two traits were not exactly apparent when Kevin was a kid. Kevin wrote stories all the time, played in the marching and jazz bands, and ran track. One time, he won a spelling bee. Another time, as a contestant in the Mr. Cheshire pageant, Kevin chose to wear an actual suit of armor as his 'formal wear.' He didn't win.

Kevin went to Colby College in Waterville, ME. As a sophomore, he was excited to begin the creative writing program, but instead was given his alternate class: Painting. He ended up loving painting and kept writing stories on his own. He also played in the jazz ensemble, and sang in the Chorale, and ended up majoring in Biology. He spent a semester in Kenya studying wildlife biology and conservation.

Kevin moved to Boston after college, excited and wide-eyed and ready to be a writer. Instead, he worked in a bank, and then as a camp counselor, and then as an elementary school science teacher (and he found that he loved teaching!). He kept writing stories, and kept playing in bands. He played all over New England and up and down the East Coast in a soul band, but then turned his attention to writing pop songs.

Now living in Seattle, Kevin is still writing stories and playing in bands. He has a very small garden, and a very small lawn, and so the skills he learned in Cheshire are thriving.

News

January 27, 2010
Guest Author on Teens Read Too
Today I stopped by the TRT Book Blog and answered a slew of fun questions for the crew. Click HERE.

November 3, 2009
Fan Videos for Oliver Nocturne on YouTube!
Check out these super-cool fan-made videos for Oliver Nocturne on Youtube! I've listed them all on the blog, HERE!

September 3, 2009
Bumbershoot and an Oliver Nocturne Song!
So, Kevin wrote a song about the Oliver Nocturne books! How does one write a song about a creepy vampire book for young readers? Kevin doesn't really know, but he tried anyway. You can hear it on olivernocturne.com, HERE.

Kevin will be performing 3 times at Bumbershoot:
Saturday, he'll be part of a Writers in the Schools showcase called Youngheads vs. Oldheads, at 2pm, where WITS teachers and their star students face off!
Sunday, the Board of Education will perform at 1pm with a 9-piece band and the trickiest rockinest Sesame Street cover ever!
Monday, Kevin will be part of the Vampires and Robots author panel at 12pm.

June 17, 2009
Bumbershoot, Twitter, Oliver #6
Bumbershoot!: Lots of rockin' Board of Education shows coming this summer, including Bumbershoot! The BoE will perform on Sunday. Also, Kevin will be part of an author program on Monday.

Oliver #6: Many of you have posted on the message board at olivernocturne.com asking about the status of Oliver #6. The answer is that yes, Kevin is working on it this summer, but no, he has no idea when it might be published. Scholastic is still monitoring how the first 5 books are doing.

Twitter: And finally, if you want to know what's going on with Kevin, from his book and music progress to his breakfast choices, follow him on Twitter, by clicking here.

April 15, 2009: Eternal Tomb Seattle Release Party this Weekend!
Oliver Nocturne #5, The Eternal Tomb, is officially out TODAY!! To celebrate, join Kevin for a Release Party this Saturday, April 18th at Mockingbird Books in the Greenlake neighborhood of Seattle. Kevin will be reading and signing, and will be joined by guest student readers. There will also be an acoustic show by Kevin's band, The Board of Education! It should be super-fun. If you're near Seattle, come on down!

September 25, 2008: The Board of Education on NPR's All Things Considered.
Music News: The BoE was featured in a segment on All Things Considered recently, in which Melissa Block and Stefan Shepard of Zooglobble.com reviewed new kids' music releases. They played bits of '8 is a Number', and our mugs were all over the npr site for a few days.

September 20, 2008: Carlos is Gonna Get a Booklist Starred Review!
Book News: Carlos is Gonna Get It received a Booklist starred review in the October issue. Horrayy for Carlos!