Look and Listen

Biography

I married too young, but I'll never regret it because of my daughter. It was a difficult pregnancy. They told me it wasn't really a stroke, but the effect was the same. I still don't have full function on the left side of my body, but I would never consider myself as disabled. I just learned to adapt. I did, however, have to give up my initial career choice, which was to teach dance. But I view all that as a sort of divine yank on my chain to get me on a different path--a path that led to law school. Loved law school, love the law, probably because it's all about history. But after ten+ years of practice, I had to face the ugly truth--I hate the practice of law. At the same time, I had to own up to another truth--my passion, my love has always been to write. As a child, I couldn't wait to learn how to read and write, and once I learned, I never stopped. I have been writing stories all my life. I just never allowed myself to consider that I should pursue writing--not until I was almost forty. I've written a lot of stories since, but I didn't really feel I was ready to publish until I wrote "High Ground." The story combines my love of history, the law and a good romance--doesn't get any better for me. Though, I will say, the manuscript I'm writing now is almost as fun-but different from "High Ground." What I'm exploring now isn't as obvious, and may be too subtle, but I think the story is pretty good regardless of whether or not anyone "gets" what sent me in this direction. Anyway, the joy for me is in the writing, the hope is that the people who read my stories enjoy the experience.

Inspiration

Loss of innocence. I went to law school with an idealistic belief in the Constitution, that the values of freedom and the rule of law would survive any threat. 911, the Patriot Act and the politicians who championed an unnecessary war had a profound effect on my understanding of what America is and what it has become. I fear we have become a nation where the special interests of a few determine the lives of everyone else. History, however, repeats itself, and this is not the first time America has been divided by political, social and economic interests. We survived a bloody civil war and became stronger as a nation. I suppose I wrote "High Ground" to better understand our history, but on a more personal level, I want to recover my faith in America, in the promise. I want to believe that somehow, somewhere, someone will have the courage to stand up and do what's right for America instead working full-time to win another election.