I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a writer. I was forming stories inside my head even before I could hold a #2 pencil. I’m convinced writing is the domain of the curious, and my curiosity has always been boundless. I’m especially fascinated with how people live their lives. As a child, I never minded long car rides because I would stare out the windows, peering at the houses we passed, wondering, ‘Who lives there? What are their dreams and their fears? What’s it like to be them?’ When I got home, I would fill notebooks with stories about imaginary people. Now, I’m working on a novel filled with the same. Someday, I’ll finish the damn thing.

I’m a mother of two college-age kids—a son and a daughter. Of course, I didn’t just spawn them on my own. I made a family with a man who brought me 20+ years of joy and chaos. We live 2000 miles apart now, but he’s still family, and we’re still friends.

I’m a dog person and I share my life (and occasionally the foot of my bed) with a diabolically clever shiba inu named Toshi. He’s probably smarter than I but he’s careful not to show it. Most cats, sensing my preference for canines, believe I’m the reincarnation of Bast.

I relax by playing the piano. I play mostly by ear, which means that if I can memorize a tune I can play it. Much to the dog’s chagrin, I also make funny sounds on the tin whistle and recorder.  I’m learning to play the ukulele. My current skill level is something like Pretty Bad, but at Least Tolerable to Listen To. I sing, and I’m part of a wonderful choir that performs songs of peace and global consciousness. Every rehearsal and concert is a hippie love fest. I like to garden, and know the Latin and common names for many perennials. I got a decent DSLR camera a few years ago and became a photomonster. (Some of the images you see here on Write After This are my own.)

I’m an unabashed liberal – a lover, not a fighter. I believe all people should be equal. I support gay marriage. I think we should help the poor. I give money to the homeless when they ask for my help. (If they scam me or use my money for self-destructive purposes, that’s on their conscience, not mine.) I believe in evolution and that global warming is a thing we should actually do something about. I recycle. And finally, I’m an atheist, but not the Richard Dawkins mock-all-religion kind. My philosophy is simple – be kind, don’t judge.

If you’ve stuck around this long, I hope you’ll follow me here on WordPress as well as on Twitter, where you can chat with me and I can chat with you. If you want to know more about me professionally, you can check out my portfolio or find me on LinkedIn. Onward!