I’m a journalist and author who has also worked as a bookseller, bartender, and barista (all great jobs for gathering material for fiction). I’ve written three novels: House and Home (2008), an IndieNext pick; A Simple Thing (2012), nominated for the Library of Virginia Literary Awards in fiction; and Leaving Haven (Oct., 2013), a Target Emerging Author pick. My non-fiction articles have appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post, Parade, Good Housekeeping, and many other publications. When I’m not writing, I teach writing. I’ve taught as an adjunct professor at American University, and I teach English to adult immigrants with the English Empowerment Center in northern Virginia. I live in Virginia with my husband, two cats, an occasional visiting adult daughter (I have two) and sometimes my eldest daughter’s dog, but escape whenever I can to the mountains and the woods, preferably northern mountains and woods. North is my favorite direction.
Little known facts about me that may (or may not) surprise my friends:
· At age 12 I was briefly considered for the lead role in “The Exorcist,” until my mother found out what the movie was about. (Mom had a friend who was a casting agent.)
· I majored in comparative religion in college and don’t regret it at all.
· I attended law school for a semester at Union University in Albany, which was very helpful in focusing my awareness on how much I did not want to be a lawyer.
· I interviewed Michael Jordan when I was two months pregnant and came perilously close to vomiting on his expensive leather shoes (but didn’t!).
· I love to hike, and have hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, the Camino de Santiago in Portugal and Spain, and the Cleveland Way in northern England, I’m always looking for my next adventure.
· I can do thirty push-ups (real ones!)
