10 Things About Me

  1. I grew up near the beach, and now I live in the mountains. My favorite place to go camping is the desert.
  2. When I was a child, at various times, I lived with 5 dogs. 15 cats, three canaries, 1 guinea pig, and 1 salamander. (Both my parents were veterinarians.) These days, I live with cats—one a a time.
  3. My hair has always been curly. On some days, it looks like Carole King’s on her “Tapestry” album, and on other days, it looks like Frieda’s in the Peanuts carton. I’m good with either.
  4. In school, I played the violin, which I hated, and the flute, which I kind of liked. A few years ago, I started learning to play the drums, and I love it. Maybe if I had started drums when I started violin, I’d be able to play so fast my drumsticks would be a blur. As it is, I’m just now learning my first song: “Hard to Handle” by The Black Crowes. (So maybe if I’d started drums when I started violin and practiced more!)
  5. I like to bake, but I don’t like to cook. My favorite things to eat that someone else makes are pizza (with Canadian bacon & pineapple), risotto, macaroni & cheese, and my husband’s gumbo. My favorite things to eat that I make are scones and ice cream.
  6. I have two sisters, one older & one younger, three brothers-in-law and one sister-in-law, four nephews & five nieces, and—wait for it: FIVE great-nephews & nieces. I have one husband and one son and (don’t tell the others!), they are my favorites.
  7. 98% of my jobs in life have been working with words in some form or other—writing, editing, proofreading. I have always liked writing stories best.
  8. I don’t illustrate my own books, perhaps because this is pretty much all I know how to draw.

    Fortunately (for me and the world), there are many brilliant illustrators out there. You can see the work of some of my favorites here.
  9. While l write, I can look out a window and watch the pollinator garden my husband has grown. Someday, maybe I’ll write a story about a hummingbird.
  10. The one thing I do every single day, often multiple times every single day, is read. (Okay, I also eat something every single day, preferably one of those things that someone else has made.) For me, reading is a shelter, an escape, a joy, and a necessity. Maybe you feel the same!