Hemmed up and isolated during a worldwide pandemic, I decided to pursue a long-held dream and wrote two full-length novels of commercial women’s fiction. What followed was the laborious yet rewarding process of working with an editor. After six months of back and forth, I felt the books were ready for submission.

Ninety-three rejections later, I applied to, was accepted, and entered the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Graduate School, as a non-traditional, student in creative writing. Energized by others the creative process has been rewarding, and a packed tool kit has resulted. I'm also embedded in a critique group of serious writers, formed at UTC which I hope will last for many years.

My current projects include four works of CWF at various stages planned for completion upon graduation. Stacked on my desk are moleskin notebooks, filled with notes and sketches for a work of historical fiction, a memoir from the three-year COVID journal I kept, and a non-fiction book titled, Follow the Process, Affordable Access to the Mountaintop.

I’m also a retired emergency manager, hiker, and sunrise lover.