I’ve had a book in my hands since my grandmother Rosa taught me to read when I was five years old. Victorian literature was one of my favorite areas of study, although I’m a big fan of American writers such as Willa Cather, Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Berg, and Barbara Kingsolver. Two books that have influenced me greatly are To Kill A Mockingbird and Beloved.

Toni Morrison said, “If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” The Other Side of Heartache is that book from me. This is a story that lodged in my heart for several years until I knew it had to be told and shared with women who ever had to make a difficult choice, or knew someone who did. The novel is available now on Amazon Kindle books.

I was born in Los Angeles and raised in a high desert town in southern California. I hold a bachelor's degree in English from California Lutheran University, a single subject teaching credential in English, and a master’s degree in education from Santa Clara University. I’ve been a frequent contributor of stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I have three adult children, one biological and two adopted (although I can never remember which two) and I live in Bend, Oregon with my husband of thirty-two years. I’m hard at work on my second novel.