Welcome to my whimsical, bookish space on the web. I've been lost in my imagination since I was a kid, often traveling through wardrobes, befriending faeries, and solving mysteries. But, it wasn’t until I started writing novels that I really felt like a writer.
Stories have given me such a full life. Turning page after page in books, I’ve hunted for clues, become a wizard, travelled to space, and befriended dragons.
In the pages of my own stories, I’ve stolen a few art pieces, hunted down a ghost dog, communicated with aliens, solved a murder (or two,) ridden a motorcycle across the country, and traveled to the land of faeries.
I wholeheartedly believe in the power of stories, so I became a writer.
One of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis once said,
“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty…”
His belief that the books we read as children are just as important when we are adults is merely one reason why I write for young readers.
There’s something magical about middle grade, and my inner 12-year-old loves adventures. So, I continue to write them.
While writing stories is the call of my heart, when I’m not doing just that I’m sharing them with my students. In my years as an educator, I’ve been a junior high teacher and a college professor, but I currently teach high school English, with lots of creative writing thrown into the mix.
Beyond writing stories, I'm married to a pretty cool guy and we reside in the Midwest with our daughter and two literary dachshunds, Darth Daisy the Doxie Lord, and Gatsby-Frodo-Padfoot-Dobby Lore. I know. He is quite ridiculous, though he much prefers his shorter title, Gatsby the Great Doxie. You’ll notice them above. Gatsby is the left and Daisy on the right.
I share a whole lot more about my journey as a writer in my monthly newsletter, Lost in Story, and I’d love for you to subscribe. It’s full of writing tips, creative prompts, book recommendations, and plenty of pictures of my adorable doxies. I also write more about my life at The Time Given, a weekly Substack.
“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room.”