Bio
I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. I have lived in California for the last fifteen years.
I graduated from Bucknell University with a BS in Chemical Engineering and a BA in Sociology. I worked as a research analyst until starting a family, when I began freelance writing, and also worked as an editor, tutor and counselor.
I returned to Bucknell to get my Master's degree in English. My graduate program allowed me to combine my critical work with creative writing, and I completed the first draft of a novel while in school. My critical work analyzed the influences that contribute to literary text creation.
I taught literature and writing at Cedar Crest College, incorporating literature-to-film adaptation into my writing courses, which inspired my book, Analyzing Literature-to-Film Adaptations: A Novelist's Exploration and Guide, published in 2011 (by Continuum, now Bloomsbury).
When I moved to California, I gravitated to the mental health field while I continued to write and also teach part-time.
I currently work as a professional tutor at a local community college and have become a student once again, working towards my AA in Creative Writing. When not working or studying, I focus my energy on building a business and writing portfolio, a project designed to help people communicate better and express themselves more authentically.
My main goal, having been where I've been and witnessed what I have, is encouraging others to heal and live well.