About Me
I grew up as an animal-loving farm girl in rural Wisconsin, with a loving family and about as perfect a childhood as anyone can imagine. I was told by everyone that I could be, and do, anything I wanted. It seemed to me, however, that everything I suggested (and it was a long list) was rather handily shot down. Veterinarian? Too much blood and pain and death. Doctor? You won’t be able to have a family. Writer? Not enough money. Social worker? Too dangerous. Mathematician? All the interesting stuff has already been done. Teacher? You’d be wasting your intellect. (Yes, unfortunately, I really heard, and believed, all of these!)
So, I gave up my dreams of changing the world and got “serious”. After earning a B.S. in Applied Mathematics, I became a software engineer at IBM. It was a fine job, challenging, with interesting puzzles to solve and great people to work with. I played the game, company-hopping when necessary, and obtained ever-higher salaries and responsibilities. But something was missing.
While I was pregnant with our first child, I read everything about parenting that I could get my hands on. I noticed my friends wanted the same information, but didn’t have the time, or the appetite, for all the research. So I started to write up summaries of what I was learning. Thus, along with a beautiful baby girl, a fledgling writing career was born.
My work has appeared in Faces, Know, Kono, WeeOnes, and ParentMap, and I am currently working on several nonfiction book projects. I am also co-regional advisor for the Western Washington region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
I am now a writer, wife, mother, friend, and volunteer living in Bellevue, Washington, with my husband, one empathetic daughter, one energetic son, one sweet old dog, one fickle young cat, and some fish. My goal—my mission—is to ensure that all children grow up knowing they can do anything they set their hearts and minds to.
