Hi there! I knew at age six that I wanted to be "an author" when I grew up, but waited until age 51 or 52 to finally start taking writing classes. I taught public elementary school for 32 years in California's Bay Area. I've been published 42 times in literary journals and other publications. Awards include Notable in Best American Essays, runner-up for the Bechtel Prize in Teachers and Writers Magazine, winner of the Naomi Rodden Essay Award and a Memoirs Ink contest, and multiple prizes in the (now-retired) Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition. I've recently finished a book-length manuscript about the effects of the far right on public school teachers, and am looking for a publisher.