I live in an old farmhouse in central Oklahoma – the first in my town built with indoor plumbing. I live with my husband, a niece, my mother, three cats, two dogs, and chickens in the backyard. I miss my adult children, although I’m lucky because the oldest two still live in the same town with their spouses. The youngest is in college and is home some weekends and in the summer. I spent more than a decade working as the editor at the small newspaper before beginning work on my young adult novel, Pairs.

I’m a graduate of Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva. I’d like to set a novel there someday – I can already picture the scene that will take place above the theater where the bats live. I’m not knocking it – I love my alma mater. It has character…not flaws.

I’ve had work published in the Tuttle Times, Minco Minstrel, Chickasha Express-Star and other newspapers. I’m not sure of all of them because articles I wrote were regularly submitted to other newspapers owned by our parent company, cnhi. I received numerous awards through the Oklahoma Press Association and Associated Press.

I’ve also been published in Oklahoma Today magazine and in Reader’s Digest.

Now I’m back freelance writing for the Times, covering stories about our community.

I homeschooled my children, but now they’re all grown up. I try to be all cool and natural green living but I fail a lot. For instance, I put my children in cloth diapers, but we’re as apt to have lunch at McDonald’s as not. I play the clarinet every year in the NWOSU alumni band at homecoming. I used to play the oboe in my kids’ homeschool band. I did a lot of acting in my childhood and college years, then did one fun show with my oldest daughter when she was a very little girl. I volunteer a lot with the local Arts Council. In the last few years, I was blessed to get to come back to the stage in two musicals. I played the Sour Kangaroo in Seussical and Queen Aggravain in Once upon a Mattress. How wonderful that was to experience again!

Water is my favorite drink. Plain water. At restaurants I pull the lemon out and leave it to dry on the saucer.

My sister Marissa died in late 2009. She was my best friend and we were very close. I am not over it, but writing helps. I don’t think I’ll ever really be “over it.” I’m not sure I want to be. I wish she could have read my manuscripts. She would have liked them.

I was diagnosed as adhd and high functioning autistic two years ago, and that has really helped me to begin to understand myself, why I act the way I do, and why I create the characters I write. I have been writing undiagnosed characters for years and years and I just didn’t know it.

I am a Christian. It’s the most important part of my life, and defines who I am.

I like letterboxing. I like genealogy. I like Broadway musicals. I like writing, ha ha.