I was born in Oakland, California in 1970, and it was in Miss Hanson’s third grade class at Glorietta Elementary School in Orinda, California where I began my writing career, though I didn’t know it at the time. We just wrote a lot, and I loved it!

We moved to Southern California when I was nine years old and in seventh grade I read S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. I was amazed that a fifteen-year-old author could write such a great book. I wanted to learn how to reach people with my own words and began to study writing. I entered a few contests in high school with some success and went on to study writing in college.

I am a loyal Banana Slug with a B.A. in comparative literature from UC Santa Cruz (Class of 1993) and in 2002 I graduated from Cal State Fullerton with an M.A. in literature with an emphasis in fiction writing. What did I do between 1993 and 2002? I got a teaching credential and began teaching 5^th grade. I also worked on building up my antique toaster collection, traveled around the world and acquired my tortoises, Sancho Panza and Rocinante, named for characters in the wonderful Don Quixote.

This year I have added a Pug puppy to my family. Her name is Scout. (Yes, another literary reference.) I am currently learning about all the ways I can “Go Green,” and I look forward to sharing my writing with enthusiastic readers.