My Work
“Think of how many times you have opened a book, read one line, and said, "Yes!" And I want to give people that feeling, too, of connection, communication.”
-Anne Lamott
What’s more powerful than a story? What else can so seamlessly connect us to the experience of another person, can bring their thoughts and emotions into our minds as if they were our own? Whether written, told, shown or experienced, stories are the most versatile tools available to me as a writer. It is my greatest pleasure to share my stories with others and help them live their own.
My Life
I’m fortunate enough to live in Kalamazoo with a bearded psychiatrist, our 20-lb. Maine Coon cat, Perd Hapley, and a tiny former street kitty named Beastatrice. When I’m not writing for work, I write poems about 1880s lumber camps, walk and run on the trails of Kalamazoo and Portage, play trivia with a team of local almost-champs, go to an embarrassing number of escape rooms, try to break my podcast addiction, listen to my 9-year-old nephew’s in-depth lectures about Apple products, and make a valiant effort to complete craft projects.
Where I Learned
to Write
Working with smart people at Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Aisle Rocket Studios, Johnson Rauhoff, Lakeland Health and Khan Academy
Immersed in the unforgettable community at Bowling Green State University’s Creative Writing MFA program
Experimenting at Saginaw Valley State University’s excellent BA Creative Writing program
From my amazing students at BGSU, St. Joseph Schools, and Harrison Community Schools
Trapped in an 8x4 DNR toll booth on the now-just-a-river Wixom Lake, as well as in a truck between weed whipping and cleaning pit toilets
Singing Temptations parodies in Mrs. Humphres’ creative writing class at Harrison Community High School
In the pages of so many wonderful books read in the corner at family gatherings
Hiding with my notebook in the middle of a field to avoid chores
My mom’s classroom after school while she graded papers
My dad’s chiropractic office in between office chair races with my siblings
In lamplight, hearing my grandmother’s stories