About Me

Me without Casey in the snow at the dogpark

Casey was beside me a second ago! She didn't feel like posing. She ran off to play ...

I write for educational markets. Does that sound boring? Believe it or not, it is the most exciting work I’ve ever done. I write library-bound non-fiction books for children and teens, and textbook materials for grades K-12 and college. My job makes me feel like a student with a lot of homework – my favorite thing to be! How did I get that dream job?

An Epiphany

At the start of junior year in college, I rode my bike around campus in the rain to register for classes. There were no computers then. You hurried to each department to sign up in person. In the English building, a chalkboard list showed many courses already full. A Creative Writing section was still open. I wrote the number down and got my form stamped. I still remember that moment. It seemed like a turning point. Goodbye botany, business, and Español. Hello poetry.

A Poetry Major

I finally knew what I wanted to be – a poet. I gazed out my window, sipped coffee, scribbled in a notebook, and strolled in cemeteries reading John Keats and Sylvia Plath and Langston Hughes. Being a poet was my favorite job ever. I helped edit the college literary review. I went to open-mic readings to listen to my classmates read poems (I was too shy to read). I won awards. I published a poem. I got my BA in literature and then an MFA in poetry.

A Teacher

After college, I taught with Johns Hopkins CTY, a summer program that offers college-type classes to middle grade and high school students. Next, I taught basic composition at a two-year college. Fourteen years went by. Teaching was the best learning experience. I worked with about ten thousand students and read about 50,000 (or maybe a million) student essays.

A Freelance Writer

I loved my students but ultimately I wanted to write for a living. I made cold calls and sent email queries. Pretty soon, I got a few writing jobs with magazines, catalogs, and, finally, educational publishers. Now I spend my days at a desk in my home office. As a bonus, on breaks I get to putz in the garden and play with my dog, Casey.

Here she is! Our Casey.

A Children’s Author

I joined SCBWI and attended a few conferences, where I met some of the biggest-hearted people I know. My first non-fiction children’s book was Helen of Troy. I’ve since written many non-fiction library books for children and teen readers.

An Aspiring Romance Novelist

I write stories, poems, and essays … however, my secret dream is to write romance novels! I’ve already written a manuscript, and attended a conference, where I met some of the warmest, funniest – and funnest – people I know.

Other projects I have written:

three romantic stories for Woman’s World
novel reviews for “Beyond Her Book” a Publisher’s Weekly blog
Lands’ End catalog copy
instruction and policy manuals
essays for magazines like Christian Science Monitor, Bead & Button, Wisconsin Trails
poems for little magazines like APR, Jubilat, Sonora Review, Denver Quarterly …

That’s it! When I’m not writing, I’m reading. When I’m not reading, I’m hanging out with my biggest hero – my husband – and our sweet dog, Casey.