What a long strange trip it’s been. The Grateful Dead

It has been a strange journey. I discovered my love of writing fiction in about 2005, stumbling upon a story idea that I couldn’t stop thinking about, writing down the words and ideas as they flooded through me. At the time, I had just started a career as a massage therapist, thinking that I might become a professional flute player in my free time. I played in a dance band and even taught flute for a few years. But fiction captivated me. All of a sudden, ideas for short stories and novels wouldn’t leave me alone. Music took a back seat to writing. I published a few short stories in anthologies, and wrote for a fiction blog for a bit. Then in 2016 I collected a few of those stories, along with some new ones, into Bella’s Rebellion.

After Bella’s Rebellion, I returned to working on novels. Songbird Fly should appear in 2019 or 2020. As I write this, it’s with beta readers, the first group to set eyes on it and give me feedback. I’m also working on a fantasy series. Most of my stories feature women dealing with issues familiar to all of us: family of origin, romantic relationships, career choices, and the hurts gathered as we go through life. But some aim more at women’s ability to affect society for the better.

I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico with my two dogs, where I enjoy the great outdoors and the vibrant culture. Before studying massage, I was a research scientist: often a very unhappy research scientist, although it had great moments. I’ve written some about that in my blog, and will likely write more. For those interested in my bona fides, I have a Ph D in Applied Mathematics from Caltech, worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and was an assistant professor in the Math Department at Iowa State University.  My research focused on the spread of infectious diseases and partner selection using game theory and artificial life.