My journey as an author began in childhood, really. My mother, who worked as a librarian during my youth, was an excellent writer who frequently published freelance articles in magazines and area newspapers. During World War II, she had lived in St. Louis and worked as a writer and editor for companies such as Wagner Electric, KMOX, and Sears. I watched her sit at the dining room table with her trusty Remington typewriter, laboring over whatever story she was working on.
So as I grew up, the idea of becoming a writer was always in my head.
I started working in newspapers right after college, and during that time the literary bug struck me hard. I started a literary magazine, Ozark Review, which lasted for a few years, and made plans to return to graduate school. A fellowship offer at the University of Missouri led me back there, and I completed a master's and doctoral degree in English. I started writing short stories and even finished a novel draft (spoiler alert: it was awful.)
I've been writing fiction and nonfiction ever since, but it wasn't until 2006 that I got the idea for another novel. After several years of work, Slant of Light was published by Blank Slate Press in 2012, followed by This Old World in 2014 and The Language of Trees in 2017. These novels can loosely be described as a "series," as they involve a common set of characters and a common location, but they can also be read individually.
Most recently, I've collected some previously published short stories and some brand-new ones in a book entitled Scattered Lights, published by Cornerpost Press, while continuing to work on the next novel in my series. Stay tuned!
