Why I Started Writing:

I penned a short play in sixth grade (which I still have!), and discovered I enjoyed putting words together. At the time, though, I was more interested in another creative field, acting, and went on to get my BA in theater, then working on stage and in radio. Several years later, I started my third career, freelancing for magazines and authoring books.

Authors Who Have Influenced Me:

My mother trotted my brothers and me off to the library each week to check out its maximum of seven books apiece, so I grew up reading a lot. That practice continues today, which means I’ve been exposed to a slew of different authors across various genres, gaining insight from many of them.

Books I Have Written:

In honor of the National Park Service’s centennial in 2016, I wrote Life Lessons from the National Parks: Meeting God in America’s Most Glorious Places. Elk Lake is publishing the sequel, More Life Lessons from the National Parks: God’s Still Present in America’s Most Glorious Places. I’ve been told that nonfiction writers usually don’t also write fiction, but I must have missed that memo—The Christmas Child is my Christian historical romance e-novella.

What I'm Working On Now:

I’m always pitching travel and service article ideas to magazine editors. I also give presentations about the national parks, mostly at libraries and senior communities (check out my website to see what I’ve written and read about my programs). My current fiction project is a full-length Christian historical romance, based on my great-grandfather’s flight from Germany to avoid conscription in the Franco-Prussian War.