I was raised, along with my older brother, all over the southeastern US, which is famous for its rich literary tradition. The daughter of a Vietnam veteran and a nurse, I credit my mom for sparking my love of reading. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and German from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. While I was an undergrad, I studied at the University of Hull, England, which was AMAZING! I'm still friends with most of my housemates. I went on to earn a Master of Arts in English Writing from Hollins College and a Master of Professional Writing from the University of Southern California, where I studied fiction writing, comedy writing, playwriting, and film writing. (It's also where I discovered that I don't really like screenwriting. I actually prefer shooting films to writing them.) My poetry and photography has appeared in literary journals such as Eyrie and Coraddi. While I was a grad student, one of my short stories was nominated by Michael Knight, author of THE TYPIST and DOGFIGHT, to be included in SCRIBNER'S BEST OF THE COLLEGE WORKSHOPS ANTHOLOGY.
Right now I'm putting final edits on a YA novel called LETTERS FROM APARTMENT FOUR, as well as working on a YA thriller called ALL THINGS RADIATE. LETTERS is not exactly autobiographical, but it was inspired by my best friend (AKA my dad) and the stories he told me about Vietnam when I was a kid. He served as a medic there from 1970-1971. If you want to read more about LETTERS FROM APARTMENT FOUR, please clink on the link for it on the menu. I'm really enjoying working on it, because I love writing from first person POV, and I also love writing in epistolary format. Music and art feature prominently in the story. The novel is divided into chapters, and each chapter is the name of a song from the 1960s or 70s.
I am so grateful for the help and support I've had along the way while writing and revising (all writing is rewriting) LETTERS FROM APARTMENT FOUR. In 2016, I was chosen to be YA writer Chelsea Sedoti's (THE HUNDRED LIES OF LIZZIE LOVETT and AS YOU WISH) mentee in the first round of Author Mentor Match. Chelsea's enthusiasm for this manuscript leaves me speechless. In early 2018, I was selected by YA author Molly Shaffer (THE PURPOSE OF ME) to be her mentee in the first round of Write Mentor. Molly's help in shaping this manuscript has been invaluable, and I am so thankful that both she and Chelsea understood so completely what I am trying to say in this novel.
I'm currently a middle school English teacher (BEST job in the world!) in the San Francisco Bay Area. In my spare time, I love reading a good mystery, drinking a strong cup of coffee, running around lakes and parks, watching horror movies while camping, swimming in lakes, oceans, and pools, taking a million and a half photos per day, and talking to random animals. Some of my favorite writers are Tim O'Brien (The Things They Carried is an exceptionally beautiful and haunting book), Harlan Coben, James Joyce, Alafair Burke, Michael Knight, Mary Higgins Clark, Rebecca Stead, Sandra Cisneros, Harper Lee, Pam Munoz Ryan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Donna Tartt.
A few random things I love:
*Forensic science and true crime. I’m obsessed with Patricia Cornwell’s novels. I think I should have been a coroner. My mom always wanted me to follow her into the medical field.
*Mysteries with lots of twists and turns (I never want to see that plot twist coming)
*England and Australia (and lots of other places!) I lived in England for a year during my undergrad, and when I finished grad school, I participated in a work exchange in Sydney for six months. It was FABULOUS! I got to feed a kangaroo a bag of Cheerios. (He dumped out the cereal and ate the bag. I was mortified, convinced I'd be kicked out of the country for killing a roo, but he was okay.)
*Peanut M&Ms
*Camping, especially in cold weather
*Coffee, tea, and iced tea
*Running, especially in beautiful areas
*Exploring new cities
*GIFs
*My Siamese rescues, Dave, Rainey, and PB (Dave and PB live with me; Rainey lives with my ex)
*80s music (I'm a major Duranie, but I love almost any kind of New Wave/Punk)
*Popcorn
*Swimming on hot, sunny days
*Rain and thunderstorms (We have amazing storms in the South, where I was raised)
*Alfred Hitchcock movies (I teach a film class based on his movies)
*A good cocktail
*The San Jose public library, which is amazing!
