About

Short Version:

I grew up in a small town in Canada with a single mom. I moved to the United States in the late 90s to work for a global company, and now reside in the Southern USA with my family.

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Long Version:

I've been a singer/songwriter since grade school and recorded three albums as an adult. I've been involved in theatre productions in middle school and high school. And a half dozen in the past decade.​

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Academics came easily for me throughout my school years. I was able to memorize the daily work for upcoming tests. However, in ninth grade, I struggled with typing—I almost failed a mandatory first-year typing class! At the time, I told myself it was because I was new at it and we never had a computer at home. But this wasn't the case. When I got to university, I was told that writing my papers in cursive was not permitted and typing was mandatory for all my course papers. So I bought a typewriter.

 

During my first year, I was beyond frustrated and embarrassed. No matter how hard I tried, my fingers could not learn the keys on the keyboard without making massive errors. (I might have single-handedly kept the correction fluid industry afloat that year!) I left the University in tears most days. I had no idea that I was dyslexic. I was so distraught and overwhelmed, taking two buses to and from school, then to my night job to pay for my room & board. I felt like most of the kids I talked to in university who didn't know what they wanted to do but felt the pressure to go. Following my first year, in the summer, I took a corporate sales job a friend had told me about. I wanted to save and buy a car. I decided not to return with a full scholarship. (My mom thought I was nuts!) University was the hardest year of my life, for many reasons, and I learned so much about myself, too. 

 

I worked for the corporation for a year or so, then left for an international opportunity. I had to work for a year before I could transfer to the States, and moving to LA was the best-worst year of my life. I lived with five people in a house and rode a bicycle to work in an industrial area. I stuck with it. I became a manager, then after another transfer and advancement, I became a Director of North America for the department. After a handful of trials and errors in the love department, I met a wonderful man, got married, and had children. I became a consultant, hiring and training people, setting up new departments, as it became clear that I could spot the 'why' behind bottlenecks at companies, and I prefer complex challenges to rule-based, logical thinking. I've experienced the positives when these two mindsets work together... Many AHA moments. 

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When COVID-19 hit in 2020, we were stuck inside like everyone else. My husband encouraged me to write down my vivid dreams. I was worried, as some of them are unorthodox, and knowing my past issues with typing, I was initially apprehensive. To my surprise, after typing my first novel with my two index fingers quickly, I haven't stopped typing. I'm amazed at how fast I can type with two index fingers, and with fewer mistakes than in my university days!

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After my first novel, I wrote a two-book whodunit series. And I set those aside when my friend asked me in 2021 if I'd go to Thrillerfest with her in 2022.

 

I took the first chapters of a new story I had started and began writing a dark, psychological, science-based thriller that was so long that I divided it into four books. Growing up, my pet peeve was secrets, so I added one secret after another and hid Easter eggs throughout the story. I'm excited to release Book 1 in what has now become my debut novel, Viola Ted.​

 

I prefer truth over polished fiction. To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway, I prefer living people, not characters (or monsters), to show human flaws. We all have them. It's important to me to highlight the importance of nature and our human connection to it, and how history repeats itself under the same cultural and societal pressures that have driven humanity's rise and fall for centuries.

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I write every day, visually and cinematically, blocking scenes and noting camera angles as I later translate my stories and short stories into screenplays. I've been taking film directing courses since 2024, filming proof-of-concept shorts and working with local filmmakers, and not only do I love it, but I also feel like I've come full circle in the arts that inspired me as a child.

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​I'm grateful to my husband, my family, every mentor, and every stranger who has impacted my journey. I would not be where I am without your positive encouragement and support. I'm sincerely thrilled to be writing and directing.​ I look forward to sharing my fictionalized stories with you on the page and on screen!

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P.S. 

For those of you who wish to write, whether you're dyslexic or not, write, paint, draw, sculpt, sing, perform, build, create, if that's what you love to do. All forms of story connect us, and the most important connection we gain through our creativity is with ourselves.

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"This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man." William Shakespeare. 

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Note: A friend asked what I mean by "complex vs logic": There are no boxes in my mind. As a storyteller, I don't follow any particular rules. I write what I write, and whatever happens, happens. I'm very aware that modern public schools were heavily shaped in the 19th century, and I personally feel the magic of my creativity is present when I let my imagination run. I'm an intuitive writer; I don't plot things out in my mind or on paper. I'm as shocked or delighted as you are reading my stories. I so appreciate my beta readers' and my editors' input. Thank YOU for supporting living creatives. Stay real, eh!