Author, editor, and tutor
Hi there! I’m a Catholic novelist, short story writer, and poet from the Midwestern United States.
I also offer tutoring and freelance writing and editing services.
My work
I write thoughtful yet action-packed stories about human love and courage, centering themes of alien communication and the social and religious impact of technology. Most of my fiction falls into the Science Fiction genre, and I have been influenced by great novels such as Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, classic films and anime like Star Wars and Cowboy Bebop, and many other works. My poetry is more spiritual, focusing on God’s work in nature and the human heart.
My education and experience
I have a Bachelor of General Studies degree in Literature, Language, and Writing from the University of Kansas and a Master of Library Science from Emporia State University (graduated in 2019 and 2022, respectively). I have been tutoring professionally since 2019 at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS.
My writing has won a variety of awards, including KU’s William Herbert Carruth Memorial Award for Poetry (2017) and James E. Gunn Award for Science Fiction Writing (2018), and several honorable mentions in the Writers of the Future Contest.
More about me
When I’m not writing, you can find me cooking, making art, pampering my cat, and going on whatever small adventures I can come up with.
J.D. Schmitz 