My brother thinks I'm an alien, at least sometimes. Friends think I'm a little artsy (I like to paint and draw). My husband thinks I'm a pack rat, since I tend to hang onto things longer than I should. And my kids think I was born a grown-up.

I've always enjoyed storytelling, and my mom tells me that I have a vivid imagination. Sometimes, I wish I had saved the stories I wrote when I was a child.

In high school, I decided that I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up. Following graduation, I pursued that dream. I went to college, received my degrees, and then worked for a pharmaceutical company for seven years. After leaving the world of science, I decided to seriously pursue writing as a career.

And Now:

I live in Rochester, NY with my children, husband, frog, fish, and two cats. When everyone goes to sleep, I write. This usually happens between the hours of midnight and 3am. Sleep, what's sleep?

Creative Sparks:

My brother and I had many adventures growing up, and I have been drawing upon these as creative starts for some of my stories. Some ideas come to me out of nowhere. Others may require a little spark and determination.

I have a lot of stories I want to write. The problem is just finding the time for all of them. I keep my story ideas in a file on my computer and various in notebooks sitting on my desk.

Writing Affiliations:

In 2004, I joined Rochester Area Children's Writers and Illustrators (RACWI) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Last year, I joined r-Spec, a Speculative Fiction group in Rochester, NY.

My Critique Groups:

The Blue Quills: We formed as a children's writer group, but one of our members has been submitting an adult thriller to the group. We have been together since January 2004. We split off from the Boost Online critique forum in November 2005.

Crits International: A MG / YA international critique group through Yahoo.

The Scribblers: A local, in person group of MG and YA writers that meets once a month to go over individual chapters and once every two months to critique whole novels for the group.

What Else:

Fun Stuff:

• I enjoy drawing, swimming, reading, and cycling. I love to learn new things and experience new places.

Professional:  

• I edited articles written by scientists for an editing firm based in NYC.

• I have  worked for a company based in India as a SEO copyrighter.

• I write on spec for an educational publisher.

Community:

• I moderate two community message boards.

• I volunteer regularly at my son's elementary school -- mostly in the library.

• I've been a Cub Scouts Den Leader for three years, but I have recently taken on the position of Cubmaster.

• Once a week, I go into a first grade classroom and help first graders with their reading skills.

• Over the years, I've spoken to kids in kindergarten through fifth grade about writing and publishing children's books. Each visit, I have also read to city school classes as part of the Rochester festival-to-go program held in October and November.

 Extra: my oldest recently drew a great picture I thought I'd share.