My daughter and I, just before we set off on a strenuous hike!

I knew I wanted to write for others from a very young age, and I was fortunate to study under skilled teachers who honed my abilities, made me hungry to learn even more, and boosted my confidence in my writing. As a former high school and middle school English teacher, I think the YA genre chose me. Whenever I sit down to write, it’s a teenager’s voice I hear. (Maybe I just refuse to grow up!) I’ve embraced that voice and continue to write for a YA audience.

Before I started teaching, I was a newspaper reporter. That job taught me to think carefully about the words I use (because back in the days of print journalism, our words were limited), and it also introduced me to a number of people from all walks of life, which only deepened the well of experience from which I draw my stories and my characters. People are interesting. Life is complex—except when it isn’t. Stories are born in a moment.

I live in north-central Indiana, pretty much where I was born and raised, with my husband and our three cats. Since 2002, we’ve been making annual family trips to the Great Smoky Mountains, our home away from home, which is why you’ll see so many pictures of that area on this site. Our daughter will soon graduate college, and then she will be tying the knot. Our family trips to the Smokies will include at least one more person now. We’re a busy, happy family, and we count our blessing every single day.