About me

So, you think you want to know me. Well, here my story … 

I grew up in Oregon, in a small town on what they called an “executive farm,” which meant my father worked in the city and dabbled in farming on the weekends. My mother was a teacher and librarian, with a master’s degree in library sciences. We had five acres, mostly fields, and my father’s vegetable gardens. It was the ideal place to be free and creative. I had a horse, which I rode bareback, tearing through local forest trails; I picked strawberries as my first job; and I took the ski bus up Mt Hood, listening to Bon Jovi and Journey with all my friends. It was, by all accounts, an ideal childhood. 

But living on a small farm at the edge of the woods, with only a younger brother for company, can also be isolating. Writing became my outlet, my connection, my interreflection. 

So you see, I've been a writer all my life. I'm sure every author says that, but truly I was writing books in elementary school, entering the school book contest every year and winning. I have the blue ribbons to prove it. But the best part of the prize was lunch with a children’s author. I dined off of cafeteria trays alongside Beverly Clearly, Ursula Le Guin, Walt Morey and Eloise McGraw. I largely credit Mrs. Olsen, the librarian at Hopkins Elementary, for inspiring my love of books and writing. She, and my mother, of course. 

My mother is an avid reader (no surprise, as I said she was a librarian. At 81, she can inhale five books a week, remembering the names of each author and specifics of the plot. And she’s always been my champion and motivator. The drive I have was passed down from her. 

My writing continued as the avenue I navigated young life. I was an editor of my high school paper and started a poetry club (just me and one other student … not much of a club); then went on to be the front-page editor of my first University’s newspaper. That developed into a degree and early career in public relations, where I spit out press release, after media advisory, after executive speech, after news summary.

My first professionally published book was The Dead Air Contract, which was put out into the world in 2003. I greatly thank the 20+ people who read it (mostly friends and family). It’s still out there on Amazon … scroll down the list about a billion books or so. There I am!

After the elation of becoming a published author, I quickly wrote a second in my female protagonist’s series. I was determined this time to find an agent and make writing my own personal career, not just something I did for the paycheck. But said life has a way of bogging down ambitions and forcing you on a different route. Children. The need for substantial income. The house, the garden, parent-teacher organization, family ups and downs, the kids’ varied (and expensive) sports ambitions, that party you have to throw, that place you have to go. Twenty years later, you haven’t moved forward the way you thought you would. 

I wouldn’t change the trajectory that was that span of life. Especially the children part. I built a successful career in high-tech marketing, mostly working on creative projects – TV advertising, global brand development, overwhelmingly large events, videos and photoshoots and websites and social media content. I traveled the world working with fabulous teams, extremely creative artists and directors, and people dedicated to their craft. What I didn’t have was time to write. I find one’s brain (and physical stamina) can only focus on about ten things at once. Writing was the eleventh.

Fast forward to today. The children have flown the coop. The past career has been shelved (at least the 60-hours a week version of it). My time is now my own and I’m excited to get back to where I started. 

Where would you find me today, I’m likely sitting at my desk working on my next novel, editing something already written, purposefully focused on select client work and freelance projects. Or in the kitchen perfecting my cooking and crafting recipes, out-n-about blogging about travel and adventure, sitting at a kitchen table planning out a podcast series I'm working on with friends. Or maybe, just sitting on a chaise lounge reading. In any case, I’m on the path meant for me.