I have
taught English at Fruita-Monument High School in western Colorado
since 1981, and I've been a science fiction fan my entire life.
My interest in science fiction came naturally. My father was an aeronautical engineer for Martin Marietta who worked on space projects for NASA. He hand built an eight-inch reflecting telescope (including grinding the mirror), set it up in our back yard and for years invited classes from the elementary school over for astronomical field trips. At the same time, my mother was an inveterate reader and encouraged me to read at an early age. For as long as I can remember, I was surrounded by books and talk of space and science.
Through my school years I read science fiction almost exclusively. I didn't find any of the assigned reading in school interesting until–by some mistake, surely!–a teacher assigned "The Pit and the Pendulum." I gave school reading a chance after that. By my junior year in high school I had already decided that I wanted to teach, and after a brief dabbling with the idea of teaching history, I settled on English.
At Fruita-Monument I have served as Department Chairman several times, been a member of curriculum committees, written and designed several courses, and taught most of our English offerings. Although I enjoy all the classes I teach, I'm particularly fond of Creative Writing, Advanced Placement English, Science Fiction, and Journalism. I've sponsored the school's literary magazine as well as been the advisor for the yearbook and the newspaper.
Although I'd always fancied myself a writer, publishing poetry in the high school literary magazine and sending a few of these efforts to various professional publications, I didn't seriously pursue writing until the late ‘80's. From 1988 to 1990 I took a two-year sabbatical to get a Masters Degree in Creative Writing at the University of California in Davis. My thesis was a collection of short stories, most of them science fiction or fantasy oriented. I sold my first short story during that time, and sold a handful of stories through the early 90's until things picked up in 1997 when I sold stories to Science Fiction Analog and many others. I am now a member of SFWA (the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America), the professional organization for Science Fiction writers, and a member of HWA (the Horror Writers Association). Several of my stories have been recommended for Nebula consideration. Two made the preliminary Nebula ballot. My stories have also been noted in both Dozois' The Year's Best Science Fiction and Datlow and Windling's The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. In 1999 I was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
My early writing influences included H.G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Edgar Rice Burroughs and, most especially, Ray Bradbury. Since then, of course, numerous other writers have impacted my writing, including Connie Willis, Harlan Ellison, Ursula LaGuin, Howard Waldrop, Edward Bryant, Robert Silverberg and Robert Holdstock.
I find it a pleasant convergence of interests that I both teach writing and write. It is indeed a fine thing when our hobbies are also our vocations.
I can be e-mailed at jvanpelt@mesa.k12.co.us