Last year, I ordered custom shirts for our family that listed everyone’s four favorite things. My shirt says more about me than any “traditional” author bio could.
Writing. Yoga. Peanut Butter. Overdoing It.
That really IS me in a nutshell. I do sometimes wish I could embody my seven-year-old son though (whose shirt reads: Volcanos. Popcorn. Dancing. Mischief.).
I started my professional career as a journalist but was writing long before that — sneaking into my dad’s room to staple together self-illustrated books written on repurposed paper (ignore my mom’s grocery lists on the back, thanks). As a journalist, I covered sports, then transitioned into politics. My articles were published in a variety of news outlets, including Chicago Tribune, Times of Northwest Indiana, Associated Press, washingtonpost.com, Chicago Defender, and Michigan Daily. After quitting the wild ride of journalism, I taught high school English, opened a custom cake business, and became certified to teach yoga (hence, the “overdoing it” part of my shirt). I’m currently writing YA novels (mostly fantasy). Reading was my first love and I always come back to the genres that captivated me as a child.
Because I’m an overachiever, I have more degrees than I use on a regular basis. My B.A. in Communications is from University of Michigan (be warned: we bleed maize and blue in this house). I have an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University and an M.S. in Education from George Mason University. I also spent a bit of time studying literature at Oxford University.
I’m a Midwesterner at heart but currently live in Virginia with my four kids and husband (read: five kids) and our two mischievous dogs. When I’m not writing or reading (or cooking… or planning someone’s birthday festivities), I’m having dance parties in the kitchen with my kids, eating peanut butter, or doing yoga.
I read an extremely wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, but some of my all-star authors are Phillip Pullman, Neil Gaiman, Frederick Backman, Ray Bradbury, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Patrick Rothfuss, Oscar Wilde, and Jon Kabat-Zinn.