AUTHOR SNAPSHOT

I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and still live in one of the many suburbs of Metro Atlanta with my amazing husband and four-pack of dogs. This photo was taken when our blue-eyed red merle boy, Simba, was a puppy. He’s the fearless leader of our four-pack. For those wanting to know, we have four Miniature American Shepherds (some call them Mini Aussies). We have Simba’s Dam, who retired with us, his nephew, and a cousin to all of them. We didn’t plan it that way, it just happened. We call them our four blessings. The origin story, The Puppy Named Simba, is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul’s book, Best Dog Ever. Simba inspired the dog, Beaujolais (“Beau”), both on the cover and in the pages of my novel, The Heart of the Deal.

Before I ever typed a single word, my stories played out in a purple convertible, a Barbie townhouse (pre-Barbie Dreamhouse days), and later, whispered drama under my parents’ dining room table. I didn’t know it at the time, but storytelling was in my bones. I’d stage elaborate tales with Barbie and Ken (usually breaking up) and reconciling (usually with a proposal). My mom allowed me to spread the drama out in the living room when she learned about my elaborate plot twists. The caveat was that it had to be cleaned up if company came over, and no dining room play during holidays. I may have brought Donny Osmond and a vintage GI Joe into the mix of boyfriends, too. I wrote fanfiction before I ever knew what fanfiction was. As an adult, those fiction stories were written in journals and stored on thumb drives while I learned the craft of writing. Since then, some of those stories have been published in my books. (Pic on right with Simba has been given a watercolor treatment to match my book covers and coordinate with the site, which is why my skin tone looks a little different).