I was born in North Dakota but spent most of my life in Denver, Colorado until my husband Matt and I moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2002. We live in Seattle with our aging cat on the steep side of a hill covered with trees, right in the city, and I watch float planes buzz by my home-office window and hear boat horns honking to encourage the Fremont Bridge to raise and let them pass. My first year in the Northwest was a shock to the system after a lifetime spent in sunshine. The first winter I often took to my bed at 2pm when it still hadn't gotten light outside. But gradually I became mole like, preferring the silver light over bright sun, and the year-round greenery over brown dusty plains. We have so many writers up here that we eventually all find each other. I feel privileged to be involved with a large group of them in a nonprofit collective called Seattle7Writers.org. We love to connect readers, writers, booksellers and librarians, and to raise money and awareness for literacy in our community. And we now have a band, The Rejections. We practice most Tuesday nights and occasionally perform for some book or literacy related event. I've been a full-time writer since 1995, which feels astounding. People think I've had some rather odd jobs previous to that, but I figure, hey, if you've lived this long, usually some interesting stuff has happened to you. I was a working musician for a very long time, from my teens into my thirties. I was an apprentice plumber when I was young, and a secretary. I've cooked off and on in little cafes and I don't rule it out in the future. I was a corporate marketing type person for way too long. And now through the grace of all good things in the universe, I get to write. Thank you, dear readers, for your support, faith, and trust. I couldn't do it without you!