I've always been an avid reader, and when I finished Gone with the Wind at twelve-years-old, I was so angry Rhett and Scarlett didn't end up together that I rushed to my bedroom and began my first novel. Unfortunately, in a fit of rationalization and sorting before I left for college, blooming with ambition to be an elementary teacher like my mom, I threw that notebook with that story into the burn barrel in our backyard. I will never reclaim the words of my younger self, but I've worked to add to her words ever since.
I was born in northern Michigan and have spent about half of my life there. The other half I lived downstate, pursuing degrees and work and culture. Because of this, my writing takes place all over the state, in fictionalized towns and real. I have an MFA in fiction from Bowling Green State University and a BA in writing from Grand Valley State University.
I have taught developmental reading and writing, composition, and creative writing at the college level for over 20 years, and currently teach at Northwestern Michigan College. I have also taught English to non-native speakers at Berlitz Language Center in metro-Detroit. Teaching college courses has been a stirring and thrilling day job and has given me the freedom to be both a writer and mother. My students challenge me to learn more, to be more, and they inspire me each and every day with the obstacles they overcome just to get to my class.
Along with writing, mothering, and teaching, I love to travel and be outdoors, especially in the woods. When we decided to move back north, out of the city, my husband and I committed ourselves to traveling so that our kids can see the world is much bigger than northern Michigan.
As an outdoor enthusiast, I hike and play disc golf; I swim and kayak; I dig in the earth, replenishing my soul with blossoms and greenery. Currently, my family and I share our lives with six hens, a basset hound, boxer-catahoula-lab-husky mix, and bearded dragon.