I grew up in northeast Georgia, and after turns in Germany, Kentucky, and Ohio, I now make my home in southwest Virginia. For the past fifteen years I’ve directed the writing center and taught writing at a small liberal arts college. A few years ago I also served as artist-in-residence at the local hospital through the Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Arts program. I hold degrees in English and Creative Writing from the Ohio State University and Agnes Scott College.

I’ve identified as a writer primarily over the years. You can read my creative nonfiction and other musings at my two blogs, Still Life, Beyond Cancer and Forty-Something First-Time Bride. My poems and essays have also appeared in Artemis, Poems in the Waiting Room, Catalyst, Kentucky English Journal, Southern Discourse, and several academic publications, as well as in audio form on WVTF, an NPR affiliate.

As an artist I am largely self-taught, though I’ve learned much in various workshops I’ve taken over the years. My first teacher was my mother, who sewed and always had fabric scraps and craft supplies at the ready. I’ve worked in a variety of media and came to illustration-style watercolors in recent years. My little birdies make me happy, and I hope to share that happiness with others.

I am a five-year breast cancer survivor and have been fighting metastatic breast cancer for close to two years. Creating, whether with words or watercolors, heals and encourages me. Sometimes the best we can do is create a small bright moment in someone else’s day. I hope, through my paintings and essays, I create many such moments.

I’m married to a fabulous, patient, supportive man, and Steve and I are owned by three felines, Charlie Kate (19 years old) and brothers Herzchen (Herry) and Finn (about 18 months). I’m stepmom to two wonderful sons-without-fur, Tucker and Dusty. When I’m not writing or painting, you can usually find me on the front porch, swinging gently and taking in the beauty of this world.