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When I was a kid, I was quiet, observant, interested in nature and science, terrible at sports, and obsessed with books, particularly books about adventures in strange places.
I guess I haven’t changed much, although I no longer have an imaginary friend—oh, wait, I do! Lots of them. They are the characters in my novels.
As a kid, I had plenty of time to play with my friends, ride my bike, roller skate, hike through the Devil’s Punchbowl, explore the world of ‘the tiny' through my microscope, conduct experiments, create concoctions with my
chemistry set, bake cakes, and read.
Oh, boy, did I read.
At the age of eight, I wrote my first novel, a space opera with two kids stowing away on a military starship. Sadly, I got stuck in the middle and didn’t finish it. I still have trouble with middles.
High school was a game changer. I joined the
newspaper, drama club, and choir. I’m still in
touch with the friends I made there, thanks to
social media.
As an adult, I obtained my masters in counseling psychology, and worked as a counselor, college instructor, and career counselor.
My husband and I raised two children, and lived in a lot of places in Ontario, before moving to Milwaukee. My favorite was our home just outside of Kenora. We enjoyed a life on the water, and our frequent sightings of deer, bears, wolves, moose, loons and bald eagles. We picked blueberries and wild strawberries and raspberries. The only issue was with the tiny wildlife—mosquitoes, black flies, mayflies, June bugs, army worms, carpenter ants, pine beetles, wood ticks, deer ticks...
During this time, between raising kids, teaching college classes, and working at an employment center, I wrote.
Boy, did I write!
I wrote for two local newspapers, for regional magazines, even the paper mill internal newsletter. I also wrote several middle grade novels, one science fiction novel for grownups and a bunch of young adult novels. Eventually, I got good enough that one sold to a publisher. Then a second. Then a third. There’s a fourth, which is looking for a home at present. And a fifth, which is almost finished and is causing me to pull out my hair. (Some books are easier than others.)
When not writing, I can be found mucking around in my perennial gardens, birdwatching, camping,
canoeing and….reading. Always reading.