Having worked here and there as a writer and editor since high school, I’ve settled in to a role of bridging and resourcing – these days, for my own family, clients at our local running store, and whoever crosses my path that could use encouragement. While I love my day job, my now two-year-old “side gig” as an author feels like a fairy tale. The Surfside Beach Series began nearly two years ago and follows a family many people can relate to: large in size, deep in emotion, trying to blend hope, joy and new bonds after a tragedy that left two people widowed and a bunch of adult kids missing a parent. Readers fall in love with the relatable characters and enjoy following them to locales that they frequent themselves in real life. Three books – two novels and a Christmas novella – are currently available, with the next novel coming in October 2023.

A few things have defined my life as a 40-something adult – which I chronicle with encouraging essays in my non-fiction collection, Swerve: When Life Throws Curves, But God Said Live.

· Moving in 2011 from Chicago Heights, Illinois, where I was born and lived for thirty-four years, to Surfside Beach, South Carolina. It took me some time to find my place, and now it’s hard to imagine a different one. I love the small-town feeling, the community, and the miles of beach.

· I am a mom of all seasons. I married an older man with two kids of his own. We went on to have three children together, and two more who were born to heaven. We also have a granddaughter the same age as our youngest son – and a new grandbaby to boot! So my mothering experience, while compressed into 20ish years, sometimes feels as ancient as the trees. I am currently raising two dynamic teenage girls and one charming, young southern gentleman – and I love to talk with other mamas in the various and glorious trenches.

· Those two miscarriages, one before and one after the birth of our little boy, shook my life, my faith, and my perspective. A major turning point in my healing was found in exercise. It began in my bedroom with an exercise video subscription. It culminated at a running store in Myrtle Beach, where I am now happily employed as a store manager, race director, and occasional running coach. Oh yeah, and I run a lot and love it. I have two marathons in the books, but I enjoy half marathons and 10Ks much more!

The moments of spare time I can carve are spent at the beach, enjoying Gen-X pop culture, cooking, reading, and being the number one fan for my husband’s southern rock band. It all comes down to a love of being with my people, which includes my husband Rod, our kids, our parents, our pups, and our “framily.”

While my fiction is not overtly Christian, I am a Jesus girl who is continually honing my understanding and application of a grace-driven, Holy-Spirit-led life – and all my writing is colored with that perspective. It makes all the difference. I love to take those experiences and lessons and turn them into smile-inducing, heart-lifting words – and I love connecting with my readers!