I was born and raised in a rural community in Nebraska, where everyone knew their neighbors and summers were spent outdoors—working, playing, or watching fireflies. My love for reading books and imagining characters and their stories germinated during those days of creating my own world. My parents, who visited every continent except Antarctica, sparked my love of travel and adventure, which burns brighter than ever.
My parents raised me to be independent. College and grad school brought me training in tax law, and for many years I practiced as a CPA using that knowledge. The miracle in my life occurred when I married my loving husband. He, along with our four sons, their activities, and our dogs, filled my life with joy.
One hot July summer in Key West, my husband and I toured Ernest Hemingway’s house. Smacked in the face with the master writer’s ghost and palpable presence, I confessed my secret desire to write books. Unlike me, my husband felt only the heat and humidity and not a trace of Ernest. My confession led to a novel that won contests, but otherwise never saw the light of day. Years of writing, revising, and rejections occurred, and then a kernel of an idea, and several trips to Italy, evolved into my debut novel, To Tuscany with Love. Living in the beautiful state of Colorado, being a wife, mother, writer, and breast cancer survivor, I am truly blessed.