Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I always saw my parents reading books and newspapers. So I quickly learned that words were powerful and storytelling was important.

When I was in the fourth grade (rocking the freckles in the photo here!) I knew I wanted to be a writer. My teacher, Miss Tucker, had us craft mysteries in the spirit of Encyclopedia Brown, and the bravest of us read them out loud to the class each Friday. I was hooked! 

I loved language. I loved interesting people. And I was very nosy. So I worked on school newspapers in middle school, high school, and college, and then I went on to work at daily newspapers in different cities around the country  — including The Dallas Morning News and The San Francisco Chronicle. California living was the greatest, and some of my favorite places on Earth are there!

​

Now I live in Chicago with my own family — three awesome kids, two high-energy dogs, and one fabulous husband. I still love language and interesting people, and I'm still nosy. So I spend a lot of time researching and writing fiction and nonfiction for readers like you. More here.