[News]

I grew up in a huge family of storytellers, and stories were practically in the air we breathed. I became a Christian when I was eleven, and I noticed there were certain stories from the Bible and other books that stayed with me. In the church library I found books about missionaries in China and Africa and was transported to mountain villages on the other side of the world. As I read more books, I became aware of the power of words to not only entertain, but to bring understanding and change. When my eighth grade teacher wrote in the margin of my essay that I should be a writer, I realized there was nothing I wanted to do more. Eventually, I did write stories, screenplay, and story line for television and Sunday school curriculum while raising my four children. I draw on my varied background as a model and commercial actress right out of college, ministry leader, mother of four and big sister of eight. I enjoy mentoring other writers and am Director of the Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) Summer Conference, and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). I also direct the Literary Harvest writing contest for Central Oregon Writers Guild and lead critique workshops. My college sweetheart husband and I make our home in central Oregon. Though it’s been years since I left Kansas to pursue my dreams in New York and California, Kansas is never far from my heart.