This is a picture of my brother and I getting ready for a parade.  I was eleven and have always loved animals.  I've had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, white mice, caterpillars, and most recently horses.  Horses became an interest for me after my oldest daughter began riding at the age of eight.  I realized I wanted to learn how to ride myself and soon wanted a horse of my own.  I researched wild horses thinking I'd get one of those, but soon realized I didn't have the skills to train one.  My first book, Whinny of the Wild Horses, came from that research.  The next five, The Kayla Montgomery series, are horse mysteries.  I've been told I give my horse characters distinct personalities which I take as a great compliment.  

I'm a goal setter.  I set a goal to get published, and made it; to succeed at karate, and got my black belt; to backpack in the wilderness and survived to return to my comfortable home and family in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

My favorite things are trail riding on Kit, my daughter's horse, going up north to the cabin with family or friends, cross-country skiing through the woods or along the lake, learning something new, teaching something new and having a student's eyes open wide in excitement, continuing my black belt training, biking, backpacking, and books, books, books.

I'm a fourth grade teacher who loves to share literature with my students.  Some of my favorite books are:  Danny the Champion of the World by Ronald Dahl, The Arm of the Starfish by Madeline L'Engle, The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katharine Paterson and adventure books by Gary Paulsen.

I've always loved stories and words.  My earliest childhood memory is of being with my mom and her showing me how A, M, and Y made my name.  I was thrilled.  At a young age I spent pleasant days pretending that my dog and I found some little people in the woods.  I brought them into my doll house and had many adventures with them.  I'm working on a series of books that deal with these tiny human-like creatures.  It's still great fun for me to pretend and play the "what if" game with them.

To play the "What If" game, click here.  To learn about my books or place an order click on the appropriate buttons.