(You want more? Really? Well then, let’s be friends!)

I believe deeply in the notion that stories are magic—they have the power to heal, to transform, to entertain, to teach, to gently shine a light into the darkness. But most of all, I believe that stories are there to teach us about people who are not like us, there to teach us empathy, and perhaps most important of all, teach us how to love.

I have crafted stories in my head for as long as I can remember. When I was a little girl, my sisters and I would lie in bed at night, and I would tell them stories about trips we would go on, what we would do, and where we would go. A prolific reader, my childhood summers were spent with long trips to the library, and I filled my heart and head with stories from my favorite authors: J.R.R. Tolkien, CS Lewis, Jack London, the Bronte Sisters, Jane Austen, Judy Blume, Beverely Cleary, Frances Hodges Burnes, just to name a few. As my mom can attest, I spent nearly my entire childhood sneaking reading books at night undercover with a flashlight, and this practice (though not always with a flashlight, as long as my husband can fall asleep!) of reading at night has remained a deeply ingrained habit. 

Fast forward through high school, college, marriage…now a busy mom of five kids and an adoption social worker, I spent most of my days running around from one activity to the other. (With five kids, all in different activities ranging from competitive gymnastics to theater to every ball sport you can think of…you can only imagine!) Though I cherished my days as a young mom and social worker, those days were often long and repetitive. I started writing as a way to find my own creative sense of expression. That endeavor turned into a book I titled Ghost Girl, a paranormal YA romance that never found its way onto the shelves. (Probably for good reason.) But I had become hooked on the craft of writing, and a few years later, I found a writing group led by the amazing teacher, writer, and mentor, Bonnie Hearn Hill. That writing group led me to write Finding Pony, a YA, issue-driven novel about Jesse, a teen boy on a desperate search to find his sister lost in the foster care system. This story was fueled by many real-life stories of kids I worked with over the years in group homes, clinical settings, Child Protective Services, and adoptions. I had (and still have) such a heart for these kids, and a deep desire to bring life to their brave stories. Finding Pony landed me my first agent (then two more—long story, the publishing world is weird), and ultimately, I ended up publishing Finding Pony with a small, indie publisher.

After writing Finding Pony, life got busy, and I pulled away from writing to focus on raising my kids and working in adoptions. But I never really started writing, I just stopped trying to get published. The stories in my head never stopped coming, and though I have tried to walk away from writing many, many times during my adult life, the allure of a new plot, the deliciousness of finding the perfect way to describe something, imagining that intriguing love interest always drew me back, and there I would find myself at my computer, typing a sentence or two, or a page or two. Or five. And then I faced the realization that, perhaps writing isn’t so much about finding success, about getting published, but about the sheer magic of creating. Expressing yourself for the singular joy of discovering who you are, and how you think about the world. Elizabeth Gilbert in her magnificent book, Big Magic, said, “Do whatever brings you life, then. Follow your fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.”

And so, this belief is what led me to return to writing and seeking publication once again. I am a different person. Older, wiser (debatable!) During the pandemic, an old friend reached out and mentioned she was in a critique group with another writer from New York City, and would I like to join them weekly via Zoom? Well, I wasn’t doing much. (None of us were.) And so, I thought, why not? The story of Paradise Flat had been percolating in my head and on my computer for quite some time, the story of two sisters, a messy, complicated family, a secret love, spooky spirits, and a big, rambling Lake House manor that was not unlike the one I spent many summers at. Deciding to bring this novel out into the open, for others to see has been one of the biggest joys in my life. Finding Kristen Terrette, an agent who gets me and loves Paradise Flat as much as me has been such a gift, and I am excited to be on the journey to publishing again. I look forward to sharing Paradise Flat with the world, and many more stories to come.

I have been married to my sometimes patient and always hilarious husband, Matt, for almost 30 years (wow that makes me feel incredibly old.) I have since retired from social work in order to focus more on writing, but kids in care, adoptions, fostering, and kids vulnerable to trafficking always have a close place in my heart. In my spare time, I love being outdoors, hiking, exploring the beautiful Sierra Nevadas, and also visiting my amazing kids (ages 27-18)in the various states where they have landed: Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, and Wyoming, (at the moment!) I am a proud military mom: both of my sons are officers in the Army, and my darling son-in-law to be is an officer in the Air Force.  I am also a yoga teacher, and teaching yoga has become one of my favorite things to do when not writing:  teaching people how to be in the present moment, be in their bodies, and discover peace, their connection to God, and mindfulness. That is what writing stories mean to me—discovering the threads of connection that lie within us all.