I was born and raised in Fairmont, Minnesota.  I didn’t have any brothers or sisters until I was 8 ½ years old. So I spent a lot of time by myself. I read a lot and wrote stories – mostly stories about kids from families with 12 or more kids.

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was five years old. But when I got to college, I realized that the chances of my actually being able to support myself as a writer were pretty small. I needed a “real” job. The problem was I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I majored in English and child psychology, neither of which prepared me to do much after college. So I decided I’d better go on to graduate school. But by this time I was married. Not only did my husband have a real job, he also understood that what I really wanted to do was write. So he suggested I take a year off and just try writing.  He said that if I didn’t try, I’d always wonder whether I could have been a writer. He was right.

I sold two magazine stories that first year and decided to keep at it.  I continued to sell magazine stories and then got work as a ghostwriter for a popular children's series.  Many popular children's series books are written by ghostwriters rather than by the person whose name appears on the cover of the book.  Ghostwriters are given an outline of the story and then have 4-6 weeks to turn in the completed manuscript.  Although I prefer to write about my own ideas, I learned a lot as a ghostwriter.  I learned how to structure a novel, maintain a character’s voice, work with an editor and meet a deadline.  

My first book was a picture book entitled, The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off.  It took me eight years to sell that first book. It was followed by four more picture books entitled, M is for Minnesota, W is for Wisconsin, ABC’s of Wisconsin and H is for Hoosier.  Sliding Into Home and Trading Places with Tank Talbott were my first novels for young readers. I was especially proud of them because that’s what I really want to be doing – writing novels for middle grade and YA readers.

My short stories have appeared in anthologies entitled, The Green Umbrella and Other Sports Stories (Highlights for Children, 1995) and Not the Only One (Alyson Publications, 1994) and in magazines including Cricket, Spider, Highlights for Children, Children's Digest, Child Life and a variety of Sunday School publications. I also write educational materials, I edit stories for www.storydog.com and I have a regular book review column in my local newspaper.

I currently live in Coralville, Iowa with my husband, two sons (Ben and Andy), a black cocker spaniel named Molly, a cat named Ashley and a betta fish named Willie.

Want to know more?  See my Frequently Asked Questions