I’m Ray, a Mississippi-based author, baker, and storyteller with deep Georgia roots and an enduring connection to Phoenix, Arizona. My work explores reinvention, resilience, nostalgia, and the quiet places where ordinary moments become meaningful stories.

I’m the author of Phoenix: Permission to Exhale, a reflective love letter to the Valley of the Sun, as well as the Oakley children’s book series, a cookbook The Georgia Sweetshop - inspired by my home bakery, and upcoming fiction projects (Defiance coming fall 2026).

When I’m not writing, I’m often baking, patio gardening, feeding wildlife, spending time with my cat Oakley, or planning my next trip west.

Desert heart. Southern soul. Always writing toward home.