WRITING
WRITING BIO
I've always been a storyteller. Ask my mom and she’ll tell you about the stories I wrote when I was three. (I will spare you the riveting trials of Snaily the Snail.) In elementary school when my best friend asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said a “writer.” She was convinced I had said “rider” and I had to explain that I wanted to write books, not ride horses. After college, I worked as a legislative aid for a state senator, a fundraiser for an educational non-profit, an advocate for women’s economic rights, and a waitress in a steak restaurant (did I mention I’m pretty much a vegetarian?) Currently, I'm a long standing, active member of a local critique group, a member of SCBWI and 12X12.
As you may know by now, my other passion is dance. (Jazz, ballet, modern, etc.) I’ve been dancing since I was three. (Hmm, I just realized that I still sound like that that three-year-old version of myself -- writing stories and dancing. Too bad I didn’t make that connection sooner. I could’ve avoided a lot of soul-searching in my twenties…)
My middle grade mystery, The Secret of Balanchine's Crown, combines my love of dance and writing and stemmed from my teaching experiences with my younger students. I wanted to teach the history of ballet in a fun, eat-your-vegetables-and-have-your-cake-too way. And thus, the idea for my book.
My love of mysteries started early. I have fond memories of curling up with my parents and watching 1930’s and 40’s black and white Sherlock Holmes and Miss. Marple movies. Some of my favorite reads when I was younger included Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes mysteries, The Westing Game and Harriet the Spy. (And yes, in elementary school I carried around a notebook so I could be just like Harriet.) As an adult, books I love include, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage, Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly.
So, you can stop reading my bio now. And start thinking about what it was that you loved to do when you were three…
WORKS IN PROGRESS
MIDDLE GRADE:
THE SECRET OF BALANCHINE'S CROWN
Stolen crown, family secrets, break-ins and criminals. A decades old mystery rooted in the history of American ballet. Can Izzy put the pieces together and save her family's reputation? A Chasing Vermeer set in the dance world, The Secret of Balanchine's Crown weaves the history of ballet through a fast-paced middle grade mystery.
WORD GAMES
An upper middle grade puzzle mystery in the vein of The Westing Game and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. A fun mystery with a literary twist, the story takes the reader into a dark mansion filled with secret passageways and mind-bending word puzzles, while tackling themes of truth, friendship and trust.
A SAMPLE OF MY WIP PICTURE BOOKS:
BEDTIME BALLET
Takes the creative movement dance class to the written page! For children ages two to five, Bedtime Ballet is a “Good Night Yoga” for little dancers. It leads the reader through a calming dance sequence consisting of gentle plies, tendues, and port de bras, while drawing on nighttime imagery. Though there are many ballet themed books on the market, none focus on merging the movement with getting children relaxed and ready for bedtime.
I AM HERE
In the vein of Someday, by Alison McGhee and Peter Reynolds, and All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee, I Am Here is a celebration of birth through age five. It follows a group of children through the seasons and years, through infancy to preschool graduation, recognizing the good and bad that comes with the passage of time and the constant presence of a caring adult.
BEAUTIFUL
A picture book celebrating real beauty defined through self awareness and self esteem. Empowering and positive, Beautiful is a response to the subtle and not so subtle messages girls and boys receive on beauty and the need to highlight that beauty goes beyond the superficial.
STRETCH STRETCH YAWN BLINK
A rhyming couplet that takes a young toddler through the day while following the exhausted mom keeping up with her.
GOODNIGHT, BOOKS
It’s a crisp winter night. The moon glows over the sleepy bookstore. The bookseller says goodnight to all her books as she closes up shop. But the books have an idea of their own as bits and pieces escape from the pages and follow the bookstore owner around, causing literary mayhem. A Goodnight, Gorilla for books.
GOON NIGHT, AFTERNOON
A globe-traveling story, GOOD NIGHT, AFTERNOON follows children at night in different cities across the United States and contrasts with what another child is doing at that moment in another part of the world.