Born in Miami, Florida, the first third of my life was spent in the ocean or on it. Almost every weekend my family went swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing off our boat, waterskiing from the back of it, or shelling and exploring on small islands my dad dropped us off on while he fished offshore. I think my mom wanted me to be the next Shirley Temple, so I had tap, ballet, and acrobatics lessons from the time I was 4 years old until my teens. I wrote my first chapter book in third grade and have been writing ever since. My desire was to be an Olympic horse rider in the jumping competitions, so I took English riding and dressage for many years.
The second third of my life, I majored in English and Theater in College and taught those subjects in High School and College for over thirty years, taking sabbaticals to write and travel throughout the British Isles, the Mediterranean, and the Baltic countries with my travel agent husband. I had read Pride and Prejudice in my teens, but when I witnessed the class’ enthusiastic reaction to a BBC production of it, I was inspired to write Regencies with a goal to tackling the great questions of life through the lenses of my Christian world view.
In this phase of my life, I juggle writing, promoting my books, painting, and volunteering as a caseworker with the Saint Vincent de Paul Society with hunting creepy crawly things in the woods, and playing board games, “freeze dance”, soccer, and “dead bug” with my grandkids.
(I think they made that last game up themselves, but it’s a lot of fun.)