Biography

I was born and raised in Maine, where a whippoorwill called at night behind my house in the summer. At Dartmouth College I studied creative writing and occasionally napped in libraries, then moved to the Washington D.C. area where I worked for an animal nonprofit and fell in love with the rushing wind of the metro tunnels. Eventually I wanted to move far away but couldn't cross the ocean with two cats, so I put the two cats in the backseat of my car along with all of my worldly possessions and drove to Portland, Oregon to see what would happen. Many things did. Ten years later I was ready for a new adventure, and moved to a small town in Central Washington, where I live now with an extra cat and my husband Daniel.

Writing

My writing career began at age 8 when I started writing tragic poems about weeping willows. Over the next couple of decades I won several awards for my poetry and fiction at Dartmouth, and found homes for my work in a number of literary journals, including Nimrod and Poetry East. I've also found tremendous joy in writing fiction for children and young adults.

Interests

I am extremely fond of holding baby goats, or really baby animals of any kind. If you are looking for me at a party, I am probably hanging out with the dog. But rather than looking for me at a party, I recommend you look for me at a farmer's market, a library, a storytelling show (in the audience only), in my garage lifting weights, on a leisurely hike, or on my couch.

When I’m not typing, my hands are usually covered with glue; you can see my paper botanical art at www.furyblooms.com.