How I became a writer ~
Ever since I was a young girl, I wanted to become a writer. I was known to write overwrought poems as a child. At about age 8, I experienced my first rejection: for a poem I submitted to a girls magazine. I wrote it in pencil on a piece of cardboard and sent in a big envelope to New York City. I’m not even sure I got a rejection card, but it never appeared in print! Since that humble beginning, I’ve continued to be an avid reader and writer and persisted in my dream to become a published author. A former magazine editor, writing and journalism professor and author of many articles and books, I live in Minnesota with my husband Jim and our miniature goldendoodle, Lloyd.
A bit of background ~
My children’s picture book writing reflects my upbringing on a Minnesota dairy farm. My six brothers and sisters and I did farm work, but we also loved to explore, create, and imagine together. We built intricate hay forts and defended ourselves against imaginary enemies, dug for critters in the muddy creek that ran through the farm and went on explorations in our “big woods.” Living on a farm left ample room for the imagination to blossom and laid the seedbed for stories I would tell years later.
I grew up in a family of storytellers and from that developed a love for a well-told story. It’s like a musical gift, hearing the cadence of a story, the build-up and point of conflict and eventual resolution. I recall fondly hearing uncles Merlyn, Charlie, or Milo, as they sat on lawn chairs in the backyard, tell stories at day’s end that kept all of children and adults alike enthralled.
Memories of those times influence the stories I write now in an office above a garage, nestled in the branches of the enormous silver maple trees in our backyard. When I write, with the dog curled up at my feet, I feel like I’m in a treehouse hidden from the world below.
My husband Jim and I have three grown children who have kids of their own—grandchildren we love spending time with. We play games, bake muffins, pick raspberries, go on nature walks and read books together. They inspire my writing and give me ideas for books I hope to someday write.
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”