I have always loved a good adventure – to include those in books. Outdoors, indoors, over here, over there – I must admit, I’m a little all over the place when it comes to interests. I can say though, that my passions lie in my family, human rights, art, the outdoors ... the Minions because they make me laugh.

I was born on the west coast, have lived in the Midwest and a teeny bit of the South, and am now settled in the Mid-Atlantic. I lived overseas for all of my high school and have travelled broadly, always trying to understand the places and people I work with, teach, or simply, come in contact with.

For many years I worked on wildly engaging assignments, which exposed me to distant places like Cambodia and the island of Lesbos, Greece, and interesting movements such as the Underground Railroad, and refugee education.  Around 2007 I began focusing on the writing of Freestyle, my first novel.  I also started writing issues for the fabulous Science Weekly, the award-winning publication that was read and used in elementary schools across the United States. 

And now, I write whenever I can and also help new authors with writing.  I manage my day in blocks; in between editing other people’s work and writing my own, I take a long walk with my dog to clear my head. When I sit, I am totally devoted to what’s on the screen in front of me—I don’t work or write with background music and I usually don’t take phone calls. I stay in my own head until it’s empty of my creative thoughts for that day.

You might say that I have learned to corral my interests in the moment!