“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question every kid is asked, myself included. I never offered the standard answers—fireman, doctor, teacher. I always knew I wanted to write. I was ambitious and in my early teens I wrote my first novel—a 150,000 word medieval epic. My journey as a writer had begun!
I grew up in Eureka, California. My family had roots in the Pacific Northwest, and I have lived in Seattle, WA for most of my adult life. In college I was a music major and had a dance minor. Those two things have shaped my life and my writing (you will always find dance somewhere in my books). Earning a living as a musician, dancer, or writer isn’t always reliable so I have a day job…but that’s a story for a different blog and time.
Through it all, I’ve written novels. I have many of them, and perhaps you too have a designated drawer of dusty manuscript pages. A few years ago, I entered one in a writing competition—and won! The book is Love of Finished Years, and it won the grand prize in the Chanticleer International Writing Competition. This led to its being published in January of 2018. It has been reviewed favorably in Publishers Weekly and elsewhere, and was named as a book of the month by the Pulpwood Queens, one of the largest book clubs in the country.
In March of 2019 my next book The Exile, will be published by Koehler Books. I was thrilled recently to win another award for this novel, taking first place for mainstream fiction in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association literary contest.
Writing is my passion however I have other interests that have not only inspired stories, they have provided me with some of my best memories. The good news for you is, I won’t spend every blog writing about writing. I am going to share stories, photos, videos, book reviews, recipes, and ideas that I hope you will enjoy. Feel free to share with me as well, by going to my contact page and sending me a note. I look forward to hearing from you!