I love to tell stories. My favorites are fantasies and mysteries, and if I can get a cat or a dog into them, even better. I write the kind of novels I like to read. That way, every step of the writing process is a pleasure. My protagonists are strong women, whether adults or adolescents, who are surrounded by a diverse, often quirky, cast of characters. My works abound with humor, hope, and resilience.
BIO
When I was five, I wrote my first play: a one-‘woman’ show about Maleficent, which I subsequently performed in my parents’ bedroom. That’s right. Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis. As I recall, the play consisted of a lot of spooky threats and pointed fingers. It may have resembled a combination of Disney and Dickens.
Throughout my life, even as I’ve engaged in other professions, I’ve loved to write. From five years old on, I wrote poems, short stories, and plays. I was lucky enough to work for a theater company that paid me to write plays, both short and full-length, including a Studs Terkel-approved adaptation of his book The Good War, and another adaptation which I co-wrote with Ray Bradbury of his novel Something Wicked This Way Comes. I’ve worked as a theater reviewer for a local newspaper, and I have a self-published memoir, The Educated Dog, about raising a therapy dog to work with me in a high school for gifted students.
I turned to writing novels, something I’d dreamt of doing all my life, when I left the high school I’d been working at for twenty-four years. I wrote the first draft of that initial novel in three months. I spent twice that long revising it, loving every minute of the process. I’m fortunate to have a published author for a sister; her input was beyond valuable. When I catch the golden ring and find representation, I’ll enjoy revising again. And again.
I credit my parents and older sisters, whose bookshelves were always overflowing, for ensuring both that I’m an avid reader and that I’m one of those people who loves school. Well, them and my Quaker grade school that made learning an adventure. From there I went on to a girls’ school where the teachers instilled the awareness that asking questions was the responsibility of a quick mind, and that my intellectual capacity as a woman would serve me well. Now, I hold a B.A. from Middlebury College and a Master’s Degree in Theater Literature from the State University of New York, and I attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. As school continues to call, I’ve studied to be a life coach and have become a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation.
I live in the Monterey Bay area with my husband, who is an actively performing guitarist and composer; my son, a filmmaker; and his wonderful girlfriend, who is studying to become a licensed nutritionist. Our household is rounded out by my son’s service dog, our compassionate Bedlington Terrier, and two cats with diva personalities.
A Memoir & Novels
The Educated Dog
a memoir
Available on Amazon and
Barnes & Noble
How a woman, no more eccentric than the rest of us, finds a way to train a terrorist–uh–terrier to be a therapy dog at a school for extraordinary teenagers. Reflections on life, education, and the way of the canine join with stories about raising dogs and children to form a tapestry of love. The Educated Dog carries us from the first sighting of the “lamb on a leash” to Cleo’s triumphant success as a certified therapy dog.
Untitled
Fantasy, drafting
During The Great War, a nurse who has lost everything important to her finds an ancient medallion that allows her to heal even the most physically broken soldiers. It seems like a blessing, but is it really?
A Tale for the Shadows
Adult supernatural fantasy
Seeking representation
When Sarah Sommers becomes a ghost, she wants to find purpose for her continued existence. First, she must free her supernatural soulmate from the Maker who is hunting him and find justice for her own murder.
AP Murder: a Poppy Bennett Mystery
YA Mystery
Currently in revision
Sixteen-year-old Poppy Bennett moves to California with only one goal: make a smooth transition to her new school. Her plans are foiled when someone is murdered on campus and a mysterious schoolmate seems to know more than he claims.
A Few Short Stories, Short Plays, & Essays
“Meanwhile
the World Goes On”
Short Story
Published in 3Elements Literary Review, Winter edition 2025
And So It Begins
ten minute play
Produced by Redwoods Writers, a division of the California Writers Club, 2024
“How Helen Katasko Lost Her Job”
a lipogram
Vocal.Media Challenge Winner, 2024
The World My Father Gave Me
an essay for Father’s Day
Vocal.Media 2022