Growing up, I imagined myself as many things (a nurse, a teacher, even a secretary) but I never imagined myself as a writer, despite the fact that I grew up in an exceptionally creative family. Everyone in my family, it seemed, had some special talent. Everyone, except me.

I tried everything from rug-hooking and needlepoint to scrapbooking and sewing, but nothing stuck. Maybe my sisters were right, I began to think. Maybe I really was adopted. Maybe my parents just lucked out and got a kid who looked exactly like their seven previous daughters. Or, maybe, I hadn’t yet found my talent.

I wrote my first book by accident. I sat down to journal my thoughts, and four hours later I’d written the first 30 pages of what would become my first novel. I wrote the entire book in secret, wanting to keep all the joy I’d discovered in writing to myself.

While my books include elements of romance and spirituality, the main story revolves around a strong parent-child bond, a reflection of the bond I shared with my own parents. My stories will inspire love, hope and the possibility of happily ever after.

I grew up in Park Forest, Illinois—twice an All-American City—in a hectic and chaotic but loving family. After graduating from Loyola University of Chicago with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (major in Accounting), I said goodbye to snow shovels and ice scrapers and followed my parents out to California. The rest, as they say, is history.