About me
Growing up on a farm
in middle Tennessee that has been in my family for generations, the best days
were the ones spent in a barn loft or pretending the trees surrounding my home
contained magical waterfalls and enchanted castles. My obsession with reading
started with Golden Books and authors like Richard Scarry, before bursting into
adventures with Henry Reed, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Trixie Beldon. As I
grew, so did my list of iconic authors. P.D. James, Agatha Christie, and even
Stephen King topped my most-wanted lists along with the mysteries of Lillian
Jackson Braun and Rita Mae Brown. It was the adventure, the puzzle, the quest
for overcoming the conspiracies and evil that fueled my imagination. My first
written story was comprised in the second grade and called The Mysterious
Red Scratches. I was hooked!
In Southern bliss at
the University of Mississippi, I began writing fiction for fun, entertaining myself,
as only I would read the works. Under the massive magnolias that once gave
flight to William Faulkner’s imagination, I yearned for success in inventing
stories. But reality deemed it a time of pursuing dreams of corporate news
agencies rather that fictional locations. I dove into newspaper reporting and
magazine writing. Specialty writing soon combined my world of horses and my pen,
and I spent years while rearing my children (there are three), employed in such
endeavors.
My father (a man larger
than life in my eyes) had a hunger for all things historical – houses, people, or antiques – and had
instigated my love of history, so soon I added historical writing to my resume,
capturing the glory days of my beloved horse industry and then, the history of my
hometown. It was there that I culminated my working career as the editor of the
small-town paper where years before I had been told I would never work because
of my love of broadcast journalism.
Always, the goal of
publishing fictional books for others to read spurred me on. It wasn’t until my
life took a health change, and Multiple Sclerosis took me from the working
world, that the opportunity presented itself. Mystery writing soon became as
consuming as mystery reading, and each new puzzle brought me back to the days
of sunshine-sprinkled fields and illustrious
who-done-its.
The blips of life
along the road have given me appreciation of the adventures I have pursued even
if the journey is often complex and gnarled with twists and turns. But aren’t
they the most intriguing escapades of all?
I am happiest when I
am writing and sharing my imaginings with others. I love to hear from my
readers and invite them to drop me a line.