Meet the Author

Do you find yourself trying to cope with fear, sadness, loneliness, parent and relationship issues, or, worse yet, the lack of a relationship? Has bullying online or at school resulted in your hiding a negative body image? I once walked on “spaghetti legs” in my uncool sneakers, so I understand the feelings of being different from classmates. As a teen, I buried myself in books to get away from work on my family’s poultry farm and to escape the insecurities of feeling not smart, pretty, or coordinated enough to measure up to others’ expectations. Life has taught me that it was my unrealistic goals I had trouble meeting.

I write books and persona poems with characters I hope you’ll find relatable, and a bit quirky. My characters in the Silent series hide in the lives and adventures of manga superheroes that populate the books the friends read, even as they experience the real pain of high school juniors and seniors.

Unlike many contemporary authors, I write about students living in rural America, mainly in Central Florida and the Champlain Valley area of New York. We don’t all live in big cities. My No Parents Allowed—set almost exclusively in a virtual reality chat room—won Gold / First Place in the 2020 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards in the Young Adult genre. I think the feelings of isolation created by the quarantine helped readers realize we aren’t alone with our problems. Thus, I updated No Parents Allowed and made it available to readers under the title Enter the Virtual World, a setting young adults visit daily.

If you feel clumsy or geeky, you are not the only one. Since I have never been able to live down my reputation as the girl who hit the driver’s education teacher’s car with the driver’s education car while learning how to parallel park, I consider myself an authority on klutzy. Riley, the main character in my novel in verse, Broken—set in Central Florida, away from the hustle and bustle of Disney and major cities—is somewhat autobiographical. I grew up in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, recognizing and struggling with my inability to stop injustice.

Have you ever let time slip by while lying on your back trying to identify shapes in the clouds? Like me, Riley also enjoys evading her problems by watching drifting clouds and finds passing her road test a challenge. You, too, may see a little of yourself in Broken or in one of my other books.

“No one ever really escapes high school” is my mantra. Writing isn’t my first career. During my years of teaching, I witnessed the alienation, the vulnerability of one-sided love, the dreams crushed, the injustices, and the tragedies my students faced. I “get” young adults and write for them and the people who love them.

Keep a journal. Write daily. If you read Fragile Voices, you’ll discover how I give voice to high school students, allowing them to spill their truths onto the pages. Write persona poems from the point of view of classmates, or ask your local theater to produce my play, Ain’t It a Shame. Do you find yourself, or a younger version of yourself, in one of the play’s characters? Consider playing that role.

I’m a pacifist who abhors book banning. Injustice inspires me. What motivates you? Follow the link on this website to contact me.