My cover letter for an internship at io9.

I was fourteen when I rejected Judaism. It wasn't easy. The religion meant a lot to me, and I felt so betrayed that I chopped off its legs and left it to die on a lava planet--all while lamenting, "You were the chosen ones!"

In Judaism's place, there was a gaping, God-shaped hole. To fill it, I sought out worlds which I knew were designed. Enter: science fiction. Yes, some of these worlds were designed more intelligently than others ("I don't care if they kidnapped an ape, Daniel Quinn; continue your essay on sociopolitics!"), but at least there was someone to take responsibility when things went wrong.

It wasn't long before my God-shaped hole got hungry again. It wanted a house of worship; a forum, where like-minded individuals could grok themselves, each other, life, the universe, and everything.

Ideally, this forum would be funny, literate, comprehensive, and chic. It would have a unified authorial voice, despite its many contributors and vast subject matter. It would have a stylish purple logo.

Yeah, right. Like that could exist.

In the mean time, I bored family, friends, and classmates with my short stories, films, and comics. I earned a Master's degree in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California. I blogged for six years.

When I wasn't writing, drawing, or filming, I was researching anything that could inspire a new idea: books, films, even science articles (especially if they had simple words and colorful pictures).

My God-shaped hole was nourished, but not sated. Fine; I could preach on behalf of science fiction--but I was still missing a house of worship. Suddenly, and without warning, there was an internship position at io9.

(Admittedly, I fudged the timeline to strengthen my narrative, here. I've been reading io9 since 2008. But that only makes the opportunity to intern for you more exciting.)

One way or another, I intend to worship science fiction. I truly hope you'll give me the opportunity to do so. After all, I live in Los Angeles, and it would be easy to fall in with those insistent folks who are battling the influence of Xenu and his Galactic Confederacy.