A Bit About Me....
I am a writer, a teacher and a mother of two young girls who are learning to navigate this world. I see my roles as writer, teacher and parent is being quite interconnected. I am an observer and a storyteller, a lecturer and a listener, a witness to the lives around me and a voice to share them. I humbly invite you to share some of the pockets of my world.
Some of my inspirations.....
Judy Blume! There's really no way to overstate the influence Judy Blume has had on me both as a writer and as a person. I came of age with her books as guideposts and her impact on my generation is unmatched. I was fortunate enough to have a chance to talk to her before her keynote speech at NCTE one of the years I presented there; she was as gracious and down to earth as I always would have hoped. She is a legend and she still never ceases to inspire.
I had heard about "Fish In a Tree" and numerous people had told me that I had to read it and share it with Hayden. I wasn't convinced. Something about giving my dyslexic daughter a book about a dyslexic kid seemed a bit biblio-therapeutic to me. But, the minute Lynda Hunt started talking about her life as a dyslexic kid trying to navigate her world, I knew that she had something important to say and that I would be wise to stop and listen. She wrote a book that only someone in her shoes could write well, and I love that there's a book out there that speaks so beautifully to the experience so many of us have faced as kids and that so many of us navigate with our own children and students. She is an inspiration on many levels.
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Nick Bruel's "Bad Kitty" was the first book my daughter, Hayden, ever read on her own. As a dyslexic reader, finding a book that was accessible and at the same time funny, informative and just all around great was a God send. "Bad Kitty" was the inspiration for "Leena and the Gerbils" in that it gave me permission to write a book that would make me laugh that my girls would love rather than feeling some unnamed pressure to write an "important" book. A book that is read and loved is an important book. Period.
Laurie Halse Anderson, Author of "Speak" as well as so many other incredible books is by far the most gracious writer I have encountered. When I first met her at NCTE Boston she, Chris Crutcher and I talked for almost an hour about writing, teenagers and life. At the end of the conversation she turned to me and asked me if I had ever written down any of my stories. I told her I had started some projects and that I write but....she said, "You talk like a writer. Write that book." I did. And two years later I saw her again at NCTE Atlanta. Laurie Halse Anderson signed my proof copy of Leena and the Gerbils and she gave me a hug. "Welcome to the family", she said.
Such a stalker-y image....I had the great fortune of hearing S.E Hinton speak at NCTE Atlanta in the fall of 2016. She was just as funny, gracious and inspiring as you might imagine. S.E. Hinton was my childhood inspiration, having published her first book, The Outsiders at 16 years old. To this day I can recite most of the book from memory and Ponyboy will live in my heart forever.
Anna Dewdney....What can I say, Llama Llama Red Pajama was a nighttime staple for many, many moons. It wasn't until I became a parent that I really discovered the beauty of a good children's book. As a kid they're just good books, but as an adult reading the same words night after night, those stories really need to stand the test of time. Anna Dewndey inspired me to start my first book. It was a rhyming book based on Hayden's imaginary city. It wasn't terribly good and it may never see the light of day, but it set in motion something that would keep me writing and eventually work its way into the Leena Series. The world will miss Anna Dewdney but her books will live on forever.
