Welcome to my Author Page! I’m so glad you’re here!

This is me, being anointed. Forget those photography rules against merging the background with the foreground. I’ll take great symbolism any day! When I saw this photo (taken by a friend at a writer’s conference) I applied it to my three loves: teaching, reading, and writing. I’m blessed beyond measure to be able to pursue these passions.

One of the most exciting adventures of my life was homeschooling my five children from pre-school to graduation. With that behind me, I started a homeschool academy–Mid-Metro Academy–with my daughter in 2020. I teach English, Journalism, and Study Skills there. I’m also an Adjunct English Professor at the University of Northwestern St. Paul. Teaching gives me the chance to share my love of words, language, and story with a new crop of young people each year.

When I’m not teaching, writing, or reading, I love hanging out with my husband; spending time with my kids and grandkids; and walking my Shih Poo, Esma, on the nature trails near my home in Minnesota.

My latest historical novel, Destination Harmony, is now available on Amazon!

I’ve started a Substack, where I share fascinating tidbits I’ve gleaned about historical practices in nineteenth century America. If you love history and historical fiction as much as I do, please subscribe!

In 2020 I released my award-winning debut novel, Silken Strands, which is available on Amazon. Close on its heels came Shattered Faith, my novella that won first place in the ACFW First Impressions Contest and was a finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Genesis Contest.

Several of my short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies. “Coyotes from Kazakhstan” appeared in the Summer 2017 issue of Sixfold, which you can read online. In May 2018 I won the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” short story contest sponsored by Two Sisters Writing and Publishing for “Love in the Wings,” which you can read online or in the print anthology. My two most recently published stories, “Time Race” and “Sir Manfred’s Secret,” appear in Tales from the Goldilocks Zone, a short story collection from Flying Ketchup Press.

I like to dabble in poetry occasionally, and I’m pleased that three of my poems–a sonnet, an alphabet poem, and a double dactyl–appear in Startled by Joy, the 2019 poetry anthology from Gabriel’s Horn Press. What’s my favorite type of verse? Click the poetry tab above to find out!

You could say I have a “rich and storied past,” which is why I’ve chosen to share about myself via memoir. I’ve completed a novella-length memoir entitled Ruthie’s Rules: Stolen by Schizophrenia, which hasn’t been published yet. Meanwhile, however, a portion of that work, “A Tale of Two Sisters,” won third place in the 2019 #MeToo Essay Contest sponsored by Memoir Magazine. In 2017, “The Sisterhood of Bereaved Mothers” placed fourth in the micro-essay contest sponsored by Mothers Always Write. In September, TheSame.Blog published “The Case of the Curious Wall,” and “Day of the Frying Pan” appeared in the December 2018 issue of Junto Magazine.

My relationship with God is the foundation of my life. He’s the one “from whom all blessings flow,” after all. I hope my writing will entertain, inspire, and bless you. Thanks for reading!