I have earned my Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children from Vermont College of Fine Arts. I have also earned my Master of Arts in Children’s Literature from Simmons College. I also have a background in folklore (having studied it at the associates and undergraduate level). Action-adventure stories were always some of my favorite reads. The western frontier, the Mississippi, the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, New Orleans, Boston, Chicago, New York, the Midwest and the Southwest, the coming together of many cultures, many languages and many stories—why, we have the BEST stories in our own front yard!

When I’m not teaching, I spend my time exploring the American landscape and the grand voices that make up the American story. The language that creates these stories is as big and grand as the landscape itself. It is this audacious, bodacious, just splendiferous landscape and language that inspire me to write.

As we know, stories tend to be organic, and sometimes outlines, research, and all the "great plans of mice and men" need to be tossed as characters take over. In which case, I tag along for the ride. It’s as much about story-building as it is about story-creating. The key to inspiration is becoming engaged in the life and landscape surrounding you. Inspiration and motivation do not come out of the ether, and are not created in a vacuum. Always the adventure. As Mark Twain once said, “Explore! Dream! Discover!”