My name is V, and I’m addicted to storytelling in all its glorious forms: journalism, marketing, social media, poetry, nonfiction, fiction…IMO, these mediums exist primarily to plant and grow ideas fed by our emotions, which form our values, and encourage us to move through the world with compassion and bravery.

I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine. – Emily Dickinson

In the professional world, I use my word powers to help people sell themselves, their creations, their ideas, and their plans. Using my formal training as an investigative journalist to elicit information from even the most taciturn of sources, then applying my very diverse industry experience, research and creativity to the mix, I invent solutions to address the current (and future) needs of the market. I’ve been a professional lecturer on cruise ships. I’ve taught many classes and workshops, from Iowa to Seattle to Toronto. I’ve judged televised dance competitions. Victor Frankenstein could’ve easily been responsible for crafting my resume. (To be fair, a certain amount of hubris was involved, in both cases.)

I am also an author. (I auth. I have authed. I will continue to auth, probably until the day I die.) I write as both Veronica Park and V.P. Anderson and am a member of SCBWI and the Author’s Guild.

I enjoy breaking outdated rules and smirking in the face of propriety, especially when it comes to gender binaries and patriarchal tropes. I’ve experimented with various categories and genres, but my major (lifelong) quest is to create brave narratives for women of all ages.

To the absolute delight of my past selves, I also play (and coach) roller derby at a competitive level, for Salt City Roller Derby (SCRD) and Roc City Roller Derby (RCRD). My derby name is “Scarlet Five.” (It’s a Star Wars reference.) One of my favorite things about being a part of this community is the global army of strong, beautiful, supportive, and fierce women I get to call my teammates and friends. Also, just to be extra clear about which team I am on: trans women are women, Black lives matter, and love is love.

For more information on my various enterprises and obsessions, please visit my Contact page.