I grew up in a home where an evening spent reading was as magnificent as it was ordinary. My sister and I would fill color-coded plastic bowls with snacks, choose a music soundtrack, burrow into the sofa, and let our parents settle in around us. Whether we were all reading the same book or each reading different books, my family occupied fictional worlds as agreeably as we occupied the real world.
Early on, I felt a personal connection to my favorite authors. Laura Ingalls Wilder shared my first name. Beverly Cleary wrote about kids who lived on a street near my house. Louisa May Alcott elevated a quiet family like mine. Lucy Maud Montgomery told stories about a girl with an imagination I recognized.
As an adult, I began reading the published journals of my growing list of favorite authors. I toured their historic homes-turned-museums and pictured their daily lives, ever more intrigued by the connection between real life and creative writing. Ever more intrigued by the notion that on an ordinary day, an ordinary woman living an ordinary life might make one choice, then another, and eventually spin those unremarkable moments into a story captivating enough for someone else to live in.
Now, I write interactive serialized stories that are directly influenced by readers like you—readers who enjoy being included in real-time, behind-the-scenes peeks (without spoilers!) at stories as they develop. My journal entries share the delights and disappointments inherent to creative work. My book reviews ask questions about what we’re learning as well as what we find beautiful, uncomfortable, humorous, devastating, or promising.
When I’m not writing, I’m swimming, knitting, listening to music, and organizing whatever feels messy. And reading. (One shelf in my home library remains empty, though. I keep it that way as a tangible reminder to hold on to my dream of seeing my own books in print someday.) In the real world, I live with my rock star of a husband and two goofball hound dogs on an island in the Pacific Northwest.
Want to connect with me?