An Extra Curly Tale

David Allyne Shepherd is a first-generation Arizona native. His work history is quite varied, most recently working as Santa Claus at a local mall. He is both a self-taught blues guitarist and a classically trained tenor. His interests are decidedly "old school," spanning history, old movies (especially the noir type), and music from eras long before his time. He has several unpublished stories waiting for their turn. As an interesting note, Daniel Boone is a part of Dave's family tree on his father's side.


Rox M. Ven was born in Germany while her father was serving in the US Army and was raised in New Jersey. She moved to Arizona in the '90s with her husband and two daughters. Roxann met Dave in 2010 while working on the US Census project and found that they shared a kindred interest in the arts and other pursuits. After sharing her mother-in-law's childhood wartime stories with Dave, he was happy to lead this collaboration, transforming her true stories into his creative fiction tale.