About Me

One man on a mission to tell the stories that others don’t…

This mild-mannered, married father is a die hard Star Trek fan, USC graduate, and Southern California native. He loves video games (which means you should never challenge him. Ever). But, his greatest accomplishment and stamp on the world is the family, which includes three beautiful children, that he has built with his partner.

At his Black millennial-focused web platform WaterCoolerConvos.com, a site he co-founded with his partner in 2012, you’ll find him covering all things in race, culture, and Black love, especially where it pertains to fatherhood, music, and blerd culture.

Daren is also a storyteller who sets out each day to create characters and narratives about those individuals who are overlooked and erased in mainstream literature. These characters include the reserved Black teen who is confronted with his own demons while living on the streets of Chicago and the well-adjusted Black man whose interracial relationship draws forward his repressed and unaddressed emotional baggage with his family. And, in the end, his goal is to make the world understand its own diversity through the written word.

Daren’s book reviews have been featured Chicago Tribune and his editorial work has been featured on VSB (Very Smart Brothas). Learn more about Daren’s freelance interests here.