About Me

I was born in Hollywood, Florida on July 16th. My mother loved the ocean more than anything. When she was pregnant with me, she walked the beach every day to swim in the ocean and look for seashells. When she went into labor, she was swimming in the ocean. I think that’s why I have always wanted to be a mermaid!

Everyone in my family loved animals. We always had a dog who was very much a part of the family. I also LOVED reading. My father and I started reading the newspaper comics together before I started kindergarten. The first book I read on my own was Casey, the Utterly Impossible Horse, by Anita Feagles. I still have a copy of that book!

My father died suddenly when I was almost seven. Books became even more important to me after that. They not only provided an escape, they also helped me make sense of the world, and not feel so alone. They still do!

By the time I was nine, I knew I wanted to be an author when I grew up. My life took many twists and turns before I realized that dream. I went to college. For a time, I was a singer in a rock and roll band. I harvested gladiolas on a flower farm, trained dogs, worked in a bookstore. Later, I went back to college and got a degree to work as a librarian. I worked as a librarian for over thirty years. Finally, I sat down and wrote my first novel. In October of 2009 that book, The Ring, was published!

I feel enormously lucky to be able to sit in my office here in the mountains of North Carolina, and write the stories about the people who live in my imagination. I feel especially lucky and grateful when I meet and hear from readers who tell me my books made them feel less lonely, and opened their hearts.