I'm an emerging writer with a curious assortment of previous careers, including an actor in theater and television, middle school educator, nonprofit director and youth advocate, owner/operator of a specialty lumber business, and the former two-term mayor of a small city in Southern California. At one point in my youth I was a circus performer, who rode a llama, a water buffalo, and a Brahma bull in front of cheering crowds, quite without my parents’ knowledge. I live in Northern California with my husband Michael and my dog Molly. When not writing, I work with teenagers and with rescued horses, both of whom keep me grounded in this mysterious and challenging world we inhabit together