I was born in Massachusetts, grew up in Ohio, and received B.A. degrees in English and German from Duke University, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. After college, I lived in Bonn, Germany as a Fulbright Scholar, and during this time wrote the first draft of my first novel, TIME WINDOWS. Getting it published was a dream come true for me, and I am so honored that it's still in print more than twenty years later, has won awards, and had some interest from movie producers (but no film in the works yet...).I've been a Writer in Residence for the Princeton Arts Council, a recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Grant for Writers, and a featured speaker with (among others) Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, The Northern California Library Association, The International Reading Association, Fresno County Office of Education, California Reading Association, The American Library Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English. My husband and I live in Northern California, in a rambling mid-19th century house with an unruly garden. We have seven children, as well as a new daughter-in-law, plus assorted pets: dogs, cats, fish. When not at home with my family or working on a new book, I teach Creative Writing at Mills College, where I am a Professor of English.