A bit about me.

I grew up in New Orleans and spent my high school years writing overwrought poems and short stories. Moving from words to numbers in college, I earned a B.S., M.S., and PhD in business, met my husband Roger in Austin, Texas, and taught accounting to college sophomores until our sons came along. I became very active in their school community and read tons of books with them, studying and eventually trying my hand at children’s poetry and prose.  

My boys were 10 and 8 when my aunt, Valerie Martin (a celebrated author of adult fiction) suggested we collaborate on a children’s book, which was a very happy stroke of luck for me. Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea was my first published novel, eventually part of a middle-grade trilogy, and I was grateful to be back in the world of words with this series. The cat brothers are dear to Valerie and me.

I also love to write nonfiction, as I do now as a reporter for The Crozet Gazette, our local monthly newspaper. The work keeps me constantly learning and exploring, meeting people in my community and beyond, and trying to tell readers what I've learned in a way that doesn't put them to sleep. To me, this kind of writing is every bit as exciting and gratifying as fiction.

I live in Charlottesville, Virginia with my husband and our two cats and sweet dog Jackson.