Ten Things to Know About Me
If you're here, you probably already know me. Or maybe, you are one of the incredibly supportive members of the online writing community who has welcomed me so warmly. Either way, I wanted to start out my blog with an introduction and some of the things that explain me a little better.
So in no particular order, here are ten things to know about me:
1. I am a lifelong writer. I can remember writing about witches and spooky haunted houses as early as first grade. Before I could spell or construct coherent sentences, I had stories to tell. Somewhere along the line, my writing shifted from the creative to the informative. Only recently have I returned to fiction and so far have one picture book manuscript in the editing phase. It is terrifying and exhilarating and the most fun I have had writing in a very long time. (Yeah, I'm looking at you, college paper on Kafka...)
2. Like most bibliophiles, my favorite books are too many to list. But the books that have stayed with me or changed me in some way are: The Great Gatsby, O, Pioneers! (I read both of those at least once a year) My Antonia, Educating Esme, Marley and Me, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Anne of Green Gables, Owl Moon, Song and Dance Man, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, Taking the Ferry Home, and The Prince of Tides. I'm a total Am Lit junkie and struggled with both Fantasy and Brit Lit in college. Don't hate me.
3. Theater is still a cornerstone of my life. It hurts me to say it has been 8 years since I have been able to do a show, but I was lucky enough to play some great roles on stage in high school and college. I keep up with new theater as much as I can from the Midwest and saw Hamilton in previews in Chicago. I was about ten feet away from Thomas Kail and there was no one around me who understood my fangirling. Someday I will get back on stage. Dream roles: Fantine in Les Mis, Mother in Ragtime, Kathy in Last Five Years, Fiona in Shrek and Maureen in Rent.
4. I think cats are hilarious in videos and memes on the internet but will never have one. Dogs all the way.
5. My kids are by far the coolest thing about me. I have a girl (5) and two boys (almost 3 and 6 months) and my favorite thing is how incredibly different they are. I don't think I'm done having kids even though I am easily the most insufferable pregnant woman alive. And apparently prone to hyperbole.
6. As long as I am talking about my family, my husband is another one of the miracles of my life. Our story is too big for a bullet point, but the best way I can explain him is that he looks a lot like Donald Draper (love a man in a suit!) but acts more like Chandler. He also thinks that he is more like Joey which is both hilarious and endearing.
7. I am a Midwesterner. I spent four years trying to fit in Dallas, TX but beyond the food and the two-stepping, I think I failed. I don't like the heat, I love winter, I love Green Bay Packers football and I love cheese curds. I belong in the flyover states. I just need a Whataburger in Indiana.
8. I grew up in a house with a lot of books, raised by two people who grew up in houses with lots of books. I didn't realize what a true privilege that was until I looked around and noticed not everyone values reading or even grows up with a library card. I'm very thankful to my Mom and Dad for cultivating my love of reading and making it the norm in our home.
9. I quote movies and tv shows more than is probably socially acceptable. Luckily this is something I have in common with my husband. "Did we just become best friends?" "YEP!"
10. The writing process is incredibly hard for me. I am someone who wants to wait until the last minute and then hammer on a project until it is complete and done and walk away from it. Revising, waiting, and revising more is so difficult! If I could draw, I would probably self-publish just to be done with a project. But I love writing the picture books that I want to read to my kids and I learn something new about this industry or the process all the time.
So that's me. As June Carter Cash said, "I'm just tryin' to matter." Hoping to tell my little stories. Thanks for reading and check back soon!
