I am fairly sure I was born asking my parents for books. 

My father learned to build bookcases to hold them, and my mother learned to cook and read aloud at the same time. I went to sleep every night telling stories to my dolls. When I realized my loops did not look like the words in books, I dictated my first story to my father. Getting a book published became my ambition.

But school got in the way, which is sometimes the case with education, and I concentrated on a safe career path. I became a teacher, jotting down story ideas during faculty meetings or concerts or at traffic lights.

Finally I set to work at writing picture books. After years of rejection, I complained to a successful author who wisely said, “If you stop submitting your stories, you will not be published. I promise. Maybe you should do something else—like become a waitress.” 

Decades later, I made up a bedtime story for our adopted Chinese daughter about her imaginary adventure on the Pearl River. She loved it, so I wrote it down for her. Sweet Moon Baby became my first published book. 

In terms of black and white details, I have lived in the South, Southwest and across the Midwest.  My M.A. in English is from the University of Tulsa. Currently I live in St. Paul, Minnesota with my husband and daughter.