About

Thanks for stopping by to see what’s happening around here.

Because there’s always something going on, whether I’m writing an article, working on a novel, or twirling around an idea for creative non-fiction.  I’m a wife and a mom to three young adults who love to poke fun at me, a collie who views barking as her most valuable asset, and two rescued cats that I adore. #catlady

As a writer, of course I love to read.  For years, Jane Austen, Tolkien, and CS Lewis were my favorites (including the movie versions), and now I add authors such as William Kent Krueger, Chiam Potok, Ron Chernow, Lisa See, Amor Towles, Tracy Chevalier, Edward Rutherfurd, and many others.  My most recent (2022) favorite book was This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger, a sort of cousin to Huckleberry Finn.

I’m also a knitter.  I make hats in the evenings while watching TV or listening to an audio book.  One only needs so many hats, so now I sell them as a part-time side hustle.  You can find hats that are currently available under the Wandering Wool page.  I have a bit of wanderlust, whether I’m exploring local state parks or flying to another region of the country, I always have some bit of knitting and I’m usually wearing something wooly in the cooler months. Get it? Wandering Wool…I wander with my wool.

I’m a bit of a chocolate connoissieur (who isn’t?), but there’s nothing better than finding a really well-made chocolate brownie/cake/torte/pudding and pairing it with the right coffee or wine.  And I really, really dream of doing this again in France soon.

And lastly, I have a B.A. and an M.A. in English from the University of Wisconsin.  Before transitioning to writing and editing, I taught composition courses at the college level for 20 years (actually, I still teach a couple courses very part-time).  I like English, but I’m not an English snob who’s secretly correcting your grammar; in fact, I’m probably writing down your turn of phrase because I think it’s interesting (like the kid in one of my classes whose facial expressions and description of a bar fight reignited my interest in the word “clobber”).  It’s all good stuff.