I've been an escapist my entire life. Whether through reading, or costuming, or renfairing, I've found that periodic immersion into other worlds is the key to my coping with this one. That being said, it should come as no surprise that the genre in which I've chosen to write is fantasy. The only limits in fantasy are those of one's own imagination, the only rules one needs to abide by are those one creates oneself. Unless, of course, one needs their work to be published. Then it's back to reality.

Speaking of reality, my real life is actually pretty fantastic. As a child growing up in a remote Southern California canyon, I explored the wild hills barefoot with my brothers and rode my horse bareback at top speed whenever I wasn't reading. A wicked youth spent hitchhiking across the West and perching on the backs of Harleys eventually gave way to soccer mom duties and full-time college studies - at the same time. In my spare moments, I learned how to herd cattle, sew costumes, swordfight, and plant an arrow or a knife in a target - not necessarily at the same time.

The art of writing is a joy I've only recently discovered. The elation I feel as a scene unfolds behind my eyes and magically transforms into words is indescribable. The phrase "witching hour" comes to mind as I think of my favorite writing time, between 11:00pm and 4:00am, when I fall under the spell of the characters in my head. The conscious brain turns off and I succumb to the unending flow of imagery and conversation as they live out their lives. I feel more like a translator than a writer, a liaison between their world and ours. And I feel honored that they've chosen me as the conduit through which to tell their stories.

The settings of those stories are a combination of the fantastical and the real. My years spent in the lofty mountains of Colorado and the stark plains of Wyoming, the red canyons of central Arizona and the rolling hills of California, provide some of the diverse stages upon which my characters re-enact their lives.

My life is currently set in the Sierra Nevada foothills and is shared with three mustang horses, two crazy herding dogs, and a very patient husband who wonders if I'm ever going find the time to sleep again.