About Me

My Writing Journey

Like pretty much every author I know, I've been telling stories my whole life. I remember reading The Princess Bride and spending hours in my backyard, acting out scenes and pretending I lived in Florin and adventured with the Dread Pirate Roberts.

In fourth grade, my friends and I made up an entire world on our playground, one where we had powers over the four elements and defeated evil every day. I was Garnet, the Sorceress of the Earth, and spent many sun-drenched days clambering over tree roots and fighting imaginary monsters.

When I was 11, I started writing seriously for the first time, developing a 200-page book called The Story of the Unicorns (one guess what it's about). I drew heavily on my favorite books - everything from Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small.

Alex and Caidy, the two protagonists of Summer Twilight, walked into my head in 2012, and haven't left since. It's been a circuitous journey to get here, but I am so excited to share their first story with you!

High School Graduation, 2013

Winter 2018 in Pikeville, KY

How Summer Twilight Came To Be

​My writing has given me many incredible experiences, and has helped me process the most difficult parts of my life. When I first discovered Alex and Caidy, I was 17 and had just been told by an orthopedic surgeon I would probably never walk again. I spent six months of my life in a wheelchair and a year in physical therapy to regain the full use of both my legs. Learning about the story my characters wanted to share gave me strength to challenge the labels the world had given me.

Five years later, when I graduated from college and began two years of service with Teach for America in rural Eastern Kentucky, I suffered from crippling anxiety. I woke up in the middle of the night with panic attacks so severe I couldn't breathe, and fought every day to show up for my kids as the person they needed. I began to seriously write Alex and Caidy's story - and through it, processed what it meant to have inner courage and perseverance in the face of adversity.

​​And now, years after Alex and Caidy first started telling me jokes and sharing their world, I couldn't be more excited to show you everything I've learned from them. I hope it helps you the same way it helped me.