About the Author

I am the mom of two boys and a baby girl who has no option but to roll with the wild. I am highly successful at finding the best playground and an accomplished basement wrestling referee. I have perfected the pb&j ratio and make a mean deep dish brownie.

I am a Colorado native, however in the last 8 years have called Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, Indiana, North Carolina, and now Ohio--home.

Hobbies include:
* Discovering new places to explore while eating my way through each one of them.
* Quilting. I just started English Paper Piecing and have to hide my drool.
* Brushing up on my second language--American Sign Language, although very rusty these days!
(Degree in Deaf Studies)
* Predicting the ending of every Christmas Hallmark movie.

My dream of writing a children's book is now REAL! Pinch me!

Wally and the Sweet Mountain Candy Factory is my first children’s book. (Fingers crossed for many more!)

I am not your traditional “writer”. I never dreamed of sitting in a tree house or a coffee shop and expressing myself with words on paper. My mom still today proof reads almost everything important that I do. (Heck, she probably has proof read this by the time I’m done with it!) But when it came to writing a children’s book, the real passion started when my husband was in Graduate School.
I would walk my 2 little boys through the neighborhood to the community library on the corner. We would spend hours pouring over picture books. Many were dull. Bad illustrations, boring writing, no excitement. Others were inspiring, creative, and clever! I wanted to be one of those. I wanted to add to the imagination of a book and give a place for readers and children to connect in a way they might never have before.
I made a goal during those years that someday I would do it—I would learn the process and ACTUALLY DO IT. Well, 6 months pregnant with our 3rd baby, settling in to our new home, my husband starting a new job, and raising two rambunctious boys with no family in sight felt like the perfect time to JUMP IN!
Everyone! YOU! If you are reading this, grab a child, sit down with Wally, and get silly. With engagement on every page, you are sure to make memories together.
Road Trips. I love having no agenda or pressure to be “productive.” I relax and enjoy the scenery, brainstorm with my cute husband, and dream big!
My sisters. I have eleven (in-laws are real sisters). Each one of them is a powerful mama, full of ideas, energy, and creativity. I love to pick their brains, and I leave every conversation feeling fearless about what I can accomplish.
YOU CAN TOTALLY DO IT. Break it down into steps, take it one step at a time, and watch it unfold. Talk to people about it; share it; network. I used to be scared to share an idea with other people for fear of them stealing it—that’s laughable now!
Find a mentor. You can learn from those with experience, and often avoid common mistakes. If others aren’t as excited as you are about your dream, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea. Take feedback, tweak it to your own satisfaction, and run with it! YOU’VE GOT THIS.
Most importantly, remember why you started chasing your dream. Hold on to that thought. Don’t let yourself get dragged down by negative thoughts or second guessing. You started for a good reason, so stay in that head space and enjoy every step of the way. “Don’t let your ice cream melt while counting someone else’s sprinkles.”