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About Me
I've always wanted to write stories.
In 2014 I became a USA Today bestselling author and I have never looked back.
I've had a passion for books since the second grade when I discovered Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I wrote my first book, a mystery, at age thirteen and have been writing ever since. I love all animals, especially dogs, cats, and horses, and they often find their way into my books. I write sweet romance, historic suspense, and cozy mystery. I live in East Bethel, Minnesota with my husband, Steve and my three cats, Chip 'n Dale and Babygirl. I owned a bonded pair of horses for twenty-five years and kept them in my backyard (which is actually 6 acres). They died of old age years ago, but I still miss them. Currently, I am an avid follower of several horse rescues. I'm very concerned about the terrible mistreatment of horses in America.
So far, I've written twenty-two books, including books in the Beach Brides series, Moonshine Madness series, and West Loon Bay series. My books have hit the Top 100 Bestseller list on Amazon and I have been listed on Amazon’s Top 100 Authors.
I love all of my heroines and my stories, but I think my favorite is Charlotte LeDoux in the Moonshine Madness Series. Char is only five feet tall and weighs 100 pounds soaking wet, so she has to be strong to make it in a man's world in the 1920s without compromising her values. Each book finds Char up against a new struggle, but she always overcomes because she never, never, ever gives up. I love Char so much that book four is going to be an entirely new adventure in a new series. I'm working on the outline and will write the book this year. Stay tuned!
My writing roots
Growing up, I thought you had to be rich and famous to publish a book because that's what I saw on TV. Then, when I was 13, my family took the train out to Oregon to visit my cousins and I found out that they had written a complete novel--by themselves. Whoa--that was all the encouragement I needed. They gave me a notebook and I started writing my first book (a mystery) on the train on the way home. I still have that tattered notebook and I've come a long way since then.
The above image is me on Amazon's top 100 list. I may have been higher on the list before that, but I didn't even know I was on it until I went looking for someone else (LOL).
My Writing Style
I have ADD so the idea of simply sitting down and pounding out a book from an idea in my head is enough to make my head spin. I have always been very organized and writing is no different. I have a set of forms that I made for plotting a book. Each form is list of simple questions I ask myself about my characters and the main story idea. Once I fill them out, I have enough to create a timeline on the computer. I fill out the timeline (1-2 sentences per chapter) and when that's done, I'm ready to write the book. Sometimes I add, delete or rearrange chapters while I'm writing, so it's not set in stone but it is a solid guide for me to go by. I have a great critique group who reads over my chapters and gives me their honest opinions on what I need to fix. I am very grateful to these writers for their expertise.