About Me

    I realized the power of the written word even before I learned to read.  Words were all around me - in books, on TV commercials, billboards, cereal boxes...  I had high hopes on my first day of kindergarten - finally I'd learn to read!  We colored.  We ate crackers.  We napped on rugs.  We colored some more.  Then it was time to go home.  We had not learned to read and I made my displeasure known, which got me a Time Out behind the paint easel.

    Thank goodness for Mrs. O'Conner in first grade.  I remember the sheer joy when I read the sentence "Run, Dick, run."

I wrote my first book when I was about nine. 

As a kid I'd go to the library every Saturday morning.  One week I'd check out a stack of pioneer stories.  The next week it could be books about UFO's and ghost stories.  Then mysteries and poetry.  I still read every day and have a huge stack of books next to my bed.

When I wasn't reading I was outside exploring the woods, building forts or catching frogs.


I spent two weeks every summer at Camp Wahpaton. 

That's me on the left. I was tall, skinny and gawky.  Now I'm only two out of  three of those things! 

 After we were married, my husband and I went camping almost
every weekend. Here we are having breakfast at Backbone State Park.

 I didn't think of writing as a career when

FAVORITE THINGS:

Favorite Movies:
White Christmas
Pirates of the Caribbean : Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

(I'm waiting for Captain Jack Sparrow to sing"White Christmas." That would be awesome!) 

 Favorite Songs:
Respect - Aretha Franklin
Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
Oscar Mayer Wiener Song

 Favorite Sports Team:
CR Rough Riders Hockey Team, Go Riders!

Pets (official):

Toby -- a big orange fluff of a cat that snuggles in my lap when I'm at my computer.

Isabella -- a plump, not fat, (she's sensitive about her weight) black and white cat who thinks she's a Princess and acts accordingly.

Special K -- a gray tabby that has a habit of getting her head stuck in everything from a plastic coffee cup to a paper bag. She's also afraid of the dark.

Captain Jack -- the newest addition to our family! He's a gray and white kitten that has waaaay too much energy and curiosity! His name is a combination of Captain Jack Sparrow and Jack Bauer on the TV show 24. 

Pets (unofficial):

A backyard woods full of deer, feisty raccoons, timid woodchucks, chipmunks, rabbits, moles, hoity-toity wild
turkeys and an unattractive opposum in serious need of a makeover.

OTHER STUFF ABOUT ME 

I've never worn lipstick.  Not once.  Not ever.

I ranked 12th in the state in the 100 meter hurdles when I was in high school. 

When I laugh really hard I snort. My husband makes me snort every day.

I lived in England for 4 years and had the opportunity to travel around Europe.

I play in a pool league -- rack 'em up! 

 WHERE I WORK

I think my "office" is the
coolest room in the house!
I collect plush figures of
storybook characters and
they've begun
to take over...

I started with Max and
the Wild Things and
Paddington Bear. Now
there's over 100 characters. 

 

The only problem is I've run out of room for shelves... How many do you recognize? Do you see your favorite?

I spent a long time cleaning off my desk
before this picture was taken!